CHARLESTON, S.C. – Over the past month, Longwood has played in four games that could have gone either way and two of the losses coming in overtime.
The Lancers found themselves in another tight contest in the regular season finale Saturday afternoon, but had numerous people to step up and make key plays down the stretch to lift the squad to a 58-51 road victory over Charleston Southern inside the Buc Dome.
"It was a great way to end the regular season," said Longwood head coach
Bill Reinson. "All year long, we kept battling. Today, we were finally able to make the plays and finish the game. Raven, Brenna and Deb all made big plays at the end."
Freshman
Micaela Ellis also played a key role for Longwood with her best game of the season. Ellis made big-time shots throughout the game and finished the contest with a season-best 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 4-of-6 from three-point range. The Oak Park, Mich., product impacted the games in other ways besides her scoring as well, finishing with four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
"The player of the game for us had to be
Micaela Ellis," Reinson said. "She made big shots and capped it off with some pressure free throws."
The game capped off a strong second half of the season for Ellis, as she averaged 7.4 points in the final eight games of the regular season and scored at least six points in six of those contests. In the first 20 games of the campaign, Ellis averaged 2.8 points per game.
"This felt really good," Ellis said. "I just tried to provide a spark off the bench and I was just glad I could contribute to the team."
Ellis was joined in double figures by juniors
Raven Williams (13) and
Kyndal Skersick (11). Williams scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half and chipped in with five assists, four steals and three rebounds. Coming into Saturday's game, Williams was one of two players in Big South play to rank among the top-10 of the conference in points, assists, steals and minutes played
"I was just in attack mode in the first half," Williams said. "We came out a little flat and I just tried to pick us up and attack the basket."
Tatum Jarvis led the Buccaneers with 13 points on 5-of-16 (.313) shooting.
The first road victory for the Lancers lifts the squad to 4-25 overall with a 4-16 mark in Big South play. Charleston Southern concludes the regular season with a 5-24 mark, including a 1-19 record in conference play.
"It's a great feeling," Williams said of the road victory. "This just helps us get into the right mentality heading into the tournament."
Ellis hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:20 remaining in the game to give Longwood a 48-47 lead. The three-pointer was her fourth of the day, as she finished 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. The four treys for Ellis was a career-best for her and marked the second time this season the sharpshooting rookie has hit at least three triples in a game.
"Deb did a really good job of penetrating and kicking it to me, so I just made sure to knock it down," Ellis said.
The trey from Ellis was the start of a 7-0 run, as co-captains Headen and Williams helped put the game out of reach for the Buccaneers with layups on back-to-back possessions.
Charleston Southern cut the lead to within three points with a pair of made free throws from Tatum Jarvis, before Ellis was fouled and stepped up to the line with the game on the line. That pressure didn't faze the freshman, as she knocked down both free throws to seal the victory.
"I knew they were key free throws and I knew I had to knock them down to help my team," Ellis said.
Longwood will be the No. 10 seed in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Tournament, as the Lancers will open the tournament against Gardner-Webb. The two teams split the series in the regular season with Longwood earning a victory in Farmville and the Runnin' Bulldogs picking up a victory in Boiling Springs. The game is set to tip at noon from the HTC Center.
"The best part now is that everyone starts over," Reinson said. "We have an opportunity to make a statement at the tournament. It's an exciting time."
#GoWood
