Box Score

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University women's basketball trailed by just three with less than nine minutes remaining in the contest before falling, 60-46, against in-state and Big South Conference opponent Radford University (13-10, 8-6) on Thursday evening in Willett Hall. Three Lancers scored in double-digits, including senior Chelsea Coward|Mechanicsville, who paced the team with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Longwood (9-16, 6-8) has a bye for the remainder of the week before returning to action on Thursday, February 21 when the squad travels to league opponent Winthrop University for a 7 p.m. tilt.

Both sides got off to a slow offensive start, as Radford scored the only bucket in the first four minutes of the contest. Longwood tied the game at 2-2 on a layup from senior Crystal Smith|Richmond. RU scored the next basket, but the Lancers took their first lead of the night on a deep three from Coward. The Highlanders answered with six straight points to take a 10-5 advantage at 14:02, but LU would quickly close the gap to one, down just 12-11, thanks to a three-point play and a jumper from beyond the arc from freshman Daeisha Brown|Richmond. The home squad knotted the score for the second time at 13-13 on a jumper from Coward and the teams continued to play a back-and-forth game, tying on two more occasions, until the visitors put together a 6-0 run to pull ahead, 23-17, with 3:43 remaining in the first half. Longwood cut the deficit to just one at 23-22 and at 24-23, but RU scored the last three points of the half to take a slight, 27-23, edge into the break.

Coming out of halftime, Radford outscored Longwood, 6-2, to make it 33-25 with 16:16 still to play. Longwood retaliated with a three-point field goal and a pair of free throws from senior Mieke Elkington|Hamilton, New Zealand to make it a one-possession game, but the Highlanders would regain their eight-point margin with back-to-back scores. The Lancers used a 10-5 run to cut the deficit back to just three with 8:36 remaining in the contest, but would not come any closer, as Radford scored 17 points, compared to LU's four, in the next seven minutes to take its largest lead of the night at 60-44 with less than two minutes to play. Longwood scored its final two points on free throws from Smith, but RU earned the 60-46 victory.

Coward's team-high 10 points and 12 boards marked her 10th double-double of the season. Smith and Elkington rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Lancers with 10 points apiece, while Brown added eight. As a team, the Lancers shot 27% (15-56) from the floor, including 18% (3-17) from beyond the arc, and 59% (13-22) from the line.

Victoria Hamilton posted a game-high 14 points along with 12 boards to pace Radford. Ashley Buckhannon added to the offensive effort with 13 points of her own. As a whole, the Highlanders shot 39% (21-54) from the field, 25% (2-8) from three-point territory and 76% (16-21) from the foul line. Radford will play its next contest at Liberty on Feb. 16 beginning at 3 p.m.

Thursday's contest marked the 28th meeting ever between Longwood and Radford in the sport of women's basketball. The Highlanders now hold a 17-11 advantage in the all-time series.