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FARMVILLE, Va. – UNC Asheville's Tianna Knuckles scored all of her 14 points in the second half, as the Bulldogs outscored Longwood, 37-19, in the second 20 minutes to claim a 60-44 victory Sunday afternoon inside Willett Hall.

"The first half was our best defensive half of the season," said head coach Bill Reinson. "We followed the game plan perfectly. When the momentum swung away from us, we weren't determined enough to get it back."

Playing their first game in over a week due to exams and just their second home contest of the season, Longwood (0-8, 0-2) came out and set the early tone. The Lancers scored the first four points of the contest and took their first lead of the season to the locker room at halftime, leading the Bulldogs, 25-23.



"We started the game with a lot of energy and I thought we played well in the first half," Williams said. "Personally, I struggled a little bit early, but I just stayed with it and tried to follow the game plan as best I could."

Unfortunately for Longwood, Asheville (3-6, 2-0) utilized a 13-4 run over 5:39 midway through the second half to build an eight-point advantage that the Lancers were never able to fully recover. The Asheville shooters came to life by hitting 12-of-25 (.480) from the field in the second 20 minutes, including 5-of-7 (.714) from long range.

"Offensively, we struggled all day," Reinson said. "The bottom line in the second half was that Asheville made shots and we didn't."

Knuckles scored all of her 14 points in the second 20 minutes to lead the Bulldogs to the victory, while Ja'Da Brayboy also finished in double figures with 13 points.

The Bulldogs also held the advantage on the glass, 45-32, as the squad was able to benefit from their size advantage over Longwood.

The game featured one of the top three-point shooting teams in the conference in Longwood against one of the top three-point defensive squads in the Big South in UNC Asheville. The Lancers came into Sunday's contest averaging 15.9 points per contest from beyond the three point arc, while the Bulldogs three-point defense came into the game holding opponents to a .287 clip from long range.

The Bulldogs held Longwood to four treys, which tied the season-low in three-point field goals made by the Lancers. In the second half, UNC Asheville frustrated the Longwood shooters, as the Bulldogs held the Lancers to 1-of-12 (.083) shooting from beyond the arc. Overall, the Lancers were held to 18-of-60 (.300) from the field.

Raven Williams scored a game-high 16 points to notch her fourth game this season in double figures. She also recorded three assists, marking her fifth time in the past six games the junior has posted three or more assists. Brenna Robbins finished the game with a season-best eight points, which is just one point shy of her career-high mark of nine points. In addition, Kyndal Skersick finished with six points and a team-best four assists.

Off the bench, Jaclyn Reagan provided a spark with two three-point field goals and six points to go along with two rebounds.

"It just helped that I was able to stay warm," Reagan said. "We've been shooting all week, so I think that helped me in the first half."

"It's hard to focus after a week off, especially after we just finished finals. We've had several practices where we were really focused, but we just let a game that we could've won slip away."

Longwood played the contest without the services of their leading scorer and preseason All-Big South selection, Daeisha Brown, as well as leading rebounder Khalilah Ali.

The Lancers will step outside of the Big South for their next three games to conclude their nonconference slate, as the squad will travel to in-state foe Virginia on Tuesday, Dec. 16. The game against the Cavaliers is set to begin at 7 p.m., and will mark Longwood's fourth of five games this season against a team from a power-five conference, which is the most of any team in the Big South.

"We got to want it more," Williams said.

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