Tournament Central | Game Notes

CONWAY, S.C. – The Longwood University women's basketball team, who earned the No. 7 seed for the 2013 VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Women's Basketball Tournament, will square off against No. 10 Charleston Southern University in a first-round game on Wednesday, March 6 beginning at 12 p.m. at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina. WVHL Radio, Kickin' Country 92.9 FM, will broadcast all of the Lancers' games during the conference tournament and is also available via the internet at wvhl.net. A live video stream of the game will be aired on the Big South Network and in-game statistics will be available on bigsouthsports.com, as well.

Looking at Longwood
Longwood finished the regular season with an 11-18 overall record and an 8-10 mark in Big South games. In its most recent outing, the squad used a 16-6 run to pull within one point at 73-72 before falling to Presbyterian, 76-72, on Senior Day in Willett Hall on March 2. Through 29 games, senior Crystal Smith/Richmond paces the squad with 14.9 points per game. Classmate Chelsea Coward/Mechanicsville is second on the team with 14.8 points per game. Coward leads the team with 8.1 rebounds per game, as well. Freshman Daeisha Brown/Richmond rounds out the double-digit scorers for LU with 12.6 points. As a whole, Longwood is shooting 36% (645-1779) from the field, including 29% (184-643) from three-point territory, and 69% (386-562) from the free throw line.

Scouting Charleston Southern
The Buccaneers are currently 8-19 overall and 3-15 in Big South action following five straight losses, including an 88-62 setback at Liberty University in their most recent outing on March 2. CSU, under the direction of first-year head coach Fred Applin, is led by senior Lakeitha Alston with 15.7 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. In addition, juniors DJ Fowler and Erin Bratcher are averaging 10.9 and 10.7 points, respectively. As a whole, the Buccaneers are shooting 37% (550-1490) from the floor, 31% (190-617) from beyond the arc and 72% (348-482) from the line.

Series History
Longwood leads the all-time series against Charleston Southern, 3-1. The squads first met on January 5, 2006, when Longwood earned a 70-55 victory. The Lancers and the Buccaneers have already met twice this season with LU sweeping the regular-season series. LU defeated CSU, 67-52, in Clinton, S.C. on January 12. When CSU came to Farmville on February 28, Longwood took the lead for good with less than five minutes to go before securing the 79-73 victory.

Big South Honors
Freshman standout Daeisha Brown has been named to the 2012-13 Big South Conference All-Freshman Team, and senior Erin Neal/Durham, North Carolina has been named to the Academic All-Conference Team, the league announced on March 4.

Stealing the Show
Longwood is currently ranked third in the Big South with an average of 10.3 steals per game against conference opponents and is ranked fifth with 9.5 steals per game against all opponents. Erin Neal posted a career-high eight steals in the squad's victory at UNC Asheville and is second on the team with 52 so far this season. Brown paces LU with 57 steals in her rookie season.

Comeback Kids
The Lancers have a knack for making things interesting this season, mounting several second-half comebacks. The team has trailed at halftime in seven of the 11 games that it has won so far this year. And of the seven games that the squad has come back to win, Longwood faced a double-digit, first-half deficit in four of them (Air Force – down by 12, Gardner-Webb – down by 18, Campbell – down by 11, Coastal – down by 17).

Under Control
As a team, Longwood has exhibited more ball control since beginning conference play. The squad set a season best with just seven turnovers against Gardner-Webb on Jan. 3. Longwood is averaging 13.8 turnovers per game against Big South opponents, compared to an average of 15.7 turnovers against all opponents this season. The team is currently first in the conference with a +6.00 turnover margin against Big South opponents, as well as a +3.59 turnover margin against all opponents.

Big South Stats
Longwood is currently first in the conference with a 3.59 turnover margin and third with 6.3 three-pointers made per game. The squad is ranked fifth in scoring offense (64.1) and steals (9.5), seventh in blocked shots (3.3) and eighth in free throw percentage (.687). Chelsea Coward is fourth in blocked shots (1.7) and defensive rebounds (5.9). Crystal Smith is fifth in the Big South in scoring (14.9) and three-point field goals made (2.0).

National Recognition
As the team, LU is ranked 56th in the nation in three-point field goals per game (6.3). The team is also 46th in turnover margin (3.59). Individually, Coward is 67th in blocked shots (1.7).