Gainesville, Fla. – Longwood jumped out to a 19-11 lead after the first quarter of play, but the advantage over the Gators did not last. Florida regrouped for the remainder of the contest securing victory, 71-54
Longwood scored a season-high 19 points in the first quarter, taking an early lead over the Gators. Dayna Rouse ignited the Lancer offense scoring nine points on 4-8 shooting in the 1st quarter. With: 53 seconds left in the quarter Longwood (0-2) led Florida by their largest advantage of the contest, 11 points.
The Gators (2-0) were a different team after the first quarter of action, scoring 59 points in the final three quarters, 24 coming in the second quarter. Lavender Briggs and Brylee Bartram paced the Gators offense with eight points apiece in the second quarter.
Florida's offense finished the last three quarters, shooting 39% from the floor, with additional 20 points coming from the free-throw line. Briggs finished with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds.
"When you look back at JMU and coming into this game, our focus was can we be better defensively and rebounding the ball," said head coach Rebecca Tillett. "There were spurts when we did that, but as a program, we need to find consistency on the defensive end when it comes to rebounding."
The Lancer offense found its stroke in the fourth quarter, shooting 46% from the floor, with Akila Smith contributing six of her ten total points in the quarter. Smith, a Florida native, finished with ten points, four rebounds, tied a career-high in blocks with three, and one assist in her homecoming performance.
"It was great for Alika to have a good performance at home, in front of her family," Tillett said. We like to allow our players the opportunity to play in front of their families. I thought she was consistent, and she altered some shots with her positioning on the defensive side of the ball."
Longwood outscored the Gators in the first and fourth quarters, 37-23. The Gators defense and timely offense in the second and third quarter sealed the victory for Florida though, as they combined for 47 of the teams 71 points, shooting 14-19 from the floor during the twenty-minute stretch.
Rouse finished with 11 points and four rebounds after getting into foul trouble in the second half. Allysah 'Cookie' Boothe scored all six of her points from behind the three-point line, including one from several feet behind the arc in the fourth quarter. Mallory Odell finished with seven points and three rebounds coming off the bench for the Lancers.
Today marks the fourth Power Five conference opponent the Lancers have competed against in as many seasons and the first matchup against a program from the Southeastern Conference since playing the Gators in 2014.
"Looking ahead to playing UNCW, we are excited to play on our home floor," Tillett said. "When you go to other places, and your opponent hits their first couple shots, there's a bit of that home-court advantage. We are certainly looking for that opportunity. We played UNCW well at their place last year, so we are hoping that the community comes out and supports us.
The game against Florida began a stretch for Longwood in which the Lancers will play three games in six days. The remainder of the stretch allows the team to return to the comfort of Willett Hall after opening the season with two straight road games. Longwood opens play at home against UNCW, Wednesday at 7 pm. The Lancers will then welcome Brown University to Willett Hall on Saturday, November 16.
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