Box Score
FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University women's basketball team used a second half comeback to earn its first win of the season, defeating the United State Air Force Academy (0-2) of the Mountain West Conference, 68-63, in the team's home opener on Monday evening in Willett Hall. Senior
Crystal Smith|Richmond (Meadowbrook) led the Lancers (1-1) with 23 points in the victory. Freshman
Raven Williams|Richmond (Monacan) and senior
Chelsea Coward|Mechanicsville (Hanover) also scored in double digits with 13 and 12 points, respectively, while freshman
Khalilah Ali|Suffolk (Woodrow Wilson) paced the team on the boards with 10 rebounds. Longwood returns to action on Thursday, November 15 when the squad travels to North Carolina State of the Atlantic Coast Conference for a 7 p.m. tilt.
“We weren't comfortable offensively in the first half,” said head coach
Bill Reinson. “After Chelsea's two fouls, we had one senior and a bunch of freshmen out there. It's different when you have the two seniors to guide the others, so that group seemed a little lost out there. At halftime, I told them there was nothing they could do about the first half, but we were only down eight and still within striking distance. There was a big difference in the second half. The seniors stepped up and Khalilah was great on the post. Raven showed poise in her performance that we were extremely pleased with.
“The crowd was great and I hope the fans stick around. They want to see exciting basketball and want to see Longwood win, and if we can keep doing that, the fans will keep coming.”
Air Force opened the game with five quick points before Longwood scored seven unanswered, including a three-point jumper from Smith, to go up 7-5, marking the squad's only lead of the first half. The Falcons retaliated with a 17-3 run to take their largest advantage of the game at 22-10 with just over six minutes left in the half. The Lancers would cut the deficit to eight before the period expired to head into the break down, 29-21.
Coming out of halftime, the Lancers took control of the momentum, tying the game at 29-29 on a fast break layup by Williams. The teams battled closely over the next 10 minutes, trading the lead six times until Longwood took the lead for good on a three-pointer from Coward that sparked a 15-4 run to give LU a 62-52 advantage with just over a minute remaining. The Falcons scored 11 points in the final minute of play, but the Lancers held on for the 68-63 victory.
Smith tied a career best with four three-point field goals en route to her game-high 23 points. She also notched six assists on the night. Coward's 12 points and nine rebounds put her just one rebound shy of collecting her second straight double-double, while Ali added nine points to her 10 rebounds. Freshman
Daeisha Brown|Richmond (Huguenot) recorded five points in the game and senior
Mieke Elkington|Hamilton, New Zealand (Cochise College) posted four points with four rebounds to add to the offensive effort. Longwood shot 32.8% (21-64) from the field, including 44.4% (4-9) from beyond the arc, and outscored the Falcons, 26-12, off of turnovers. The squad went 17-26 (65.4%) from the foul line.
Dymond James and Alicia Leipprandt notched 14 points apiece to lead the Falcons. James also posted 11 boards for the double-double. Simonne Potts added eight points, as well. Air Force shot 37.3% (22-59), 33.3% (10-30) on three-point field goals and 53.8% (14-26) from the line.
Monday's contest marked the second meeting ever between Longwood and Air Force in the sport of women's basketball, with the Lancers leading the all-time series, 2-0.
