FARMVILLE, Va. – Sophomore Daeisha Brown/Richmond notched her fourth career double-double to lead four double-digit scorers and propel the Longwood University women's basketball team to a 59-52 comeback victory against in-state opponent William and Mary (0-1) on Monday evening in the squad's home opener at Willett Hall in Farmville. Brown totaled 16 points and 11 rebounds, including 10 defensive boards, in the victory. Down by 10 with 10 minutes to play, the Lancers put together an 18-7 run to take the lead for good with three minutes left. Sophomore Khalilah Ali/Suffolk added a double-double of her own with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Longwood (1-1) will host Utah Valley University in a non-conference contest on Saturday, November 16 at 2 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the school's men's team.

"I think we spent the first thirty minutes just gathering ourselves and figuring out what we were going to do," said head coach Bill Reinson. "We came out hot with two quick shots by Kyndal, but after that, there was kind of a feeling out period where we weren't sure where everybody was going to be. We couldn't get a good feel for the offense at first and the defense struggled, but when we took the timeout at 10 minutes, we felt that we weren't out of it. Even though we made some questionable plays and left them in the game, we still had 10 minutes to go. This team has a lot of heart and a lot of character, and they pulled together and pulled through in the end."

Longwood jumped out to an early advantage, as sophomore Kyndal Skersick/Orlando, Fla. knocked down the first five points of the game. The visitors retaliated with a pair of threes, but Ali netted one of her own to regain the lead for Longwood at 8-6 with 16:19 to play in the first half. A jumper by Marlena Tremba sparked a 15-4 run that would last more than 10 minutes to give William and Mary a 23-16 advantage with 4:04 remaining in the period. The Lancers took control of the momentum when Skersick and classmate Rianna Frazer/Baltimore, Md. hit back-to-back jumpers, and freshman Brenna Robbins/Erie, Pa. drained the last bucket of the half with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to just two at the break, 25-23.

The Lancers knotted the score at 25-25 on a layup by Brown coming out of halftime. The game was tied on two more occasions in the next minute before the Tribe outscored Longwood 12-2 to take its largest lead of the game at 41-31 with 10 minutes to play. The Lancers would not stop fighting, however, as Brown tallied the jumper that sparked the comeback and Skersick posted the layup that gave the squad the lead for good at 51-50 with just 3:38 to go. Longwood ended the contest on an 8-1 run to seal the 59-52 victory.

Brown went 6-12 (.500) from the floor and 4-4 (1.000) at the foul line en route to her team-best 16 points. Ali's 12 points were good for a new career high. Williams and Skersick rounded out the double-digit scorers for Longwood with 11 points each. As a team, the Lancers shot 38% (22-58) from the floor, including 22% (4-18) from beyond the arc, and 85% (11-13) from the line.

Tremba led the Tribe with a game-high 20 points, while Kaitlyn Mathieu added 18. As a whole, William and Mary shot 29% (19-66) from the field, 22% (6-27) from three-point territory and 53% (8-15) from the foul line.

Monday's contest marked the 29th meeting ever between Longwood and William and Mary in the sport of women's basketball. The Tribe still holds a 16-13 edge in the all-time series.