SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A career-high 31 points from junior
Dayna Rouse along with her second double-double performance of the season was nullified by four USC Upstate players in double figures, as the Spartans put together a second-half comeback in a 72-67 win over the Longwood women's basketball team Saturday afternoon inside the G.B. Hodge Center.
Rouse scored 17 of her game-high 31 points in the opening half, as she secured her second double-double in Big South play. However, a 16-point performance from Big South leading scorer Brianna Lewis, along with 15 points from DeNisha Swain and double-doubles from Riley Popplewell (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Michaela Gibbons (12 points, 12 rebounds) helped the Spartans (6-12, 2-5 Big South) to their first Big South win on their home floor.
An 11-4 run over the opening 3:34 of the second half helped the Spartans overcome a six-point Longwood (1-16, 0-7 Big South) halftime lead, as that run was sparked by a combined six points from Lewis and Popellwell aided the run. Eleven of Poplewell's 12 rebounds came on the offensive end of the floor, helping USC Upstate to 24 offensive rebounds.
"Overall, I'm really encouraged by our women's effort and focus over the last couple of days," said Longwood first-year head coach
Rebecca Tillett. "They're taking steps in the right direction.
"The third quarter hurt us and that's something that we continue to work on. We had the right amount of fight in the fourth quarter but we're still trying to find our confidence. When you allow a team that you have a lead on in the first half to make a run, and they went up by as many as six, we couldn't quite respond and get the lead back. It was the type of game where we needed one or two extra minutes."
The career-best performance from Rouse marked her 11th game of the season in double figures, as the Big South's second most efficient player finished 13-of-15 from the floor while adding 12 rebounds in 34 minutes on the floor. It marked the first 30-point game for the Lancers since
Kristina Antonenko scored 33 points a season ago at N.C. Central and is the fourth-most points in Longwood's Division I era.
"What made Dayna so successful tonight is that we did a great job of sharing the basketball," Tillett said. "We had 18 assists which was a season-high for us and that was a focus coming into today. She was able to find the seams beautifully and did a good job finishing. She's always successful for us in terms of her field-goal percentage but she was able to elevate her performance even further today."
Khaila Hall joined Rouse in double figures with her second straight game in double figures, as she finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
Ciarah Bennett added five points, six rebounds and seven assists – matching her most on the season.
A product of Pittsburgh, Pa., Rouse finished with her second game of the season with 20-plus and her first career game with at least 30 points. In Big South games, Rouse has averaged 14.4 points per game, scoring in double figures in five of seven games.
Defensively, Longwood limited a USC Upstate team that came into Saturday's game shooting a Big South-best .433 from the floor to .350 (28-of-80) from the floor and 9-of-31 (.290) from beyond the arc.
After playing back-to-back games on the road, Longwood returns to Willett Hall to begin a stretch of three straight games on its home floor. That stretch is set to begin Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m., as the Lancers welcome Campbell for the only regular season matchup between the two teams.
#GoWood
