Rock Hill, S.C. — Led by Maleeah Langstaff 16 points, Winthrop needed three Eagles in double-figures to overcome two Longwood double-double performances to remain unbeaten at the Winthrop Coliseum, 74-63.
Langstaff paired with Jah'Che Whitfield, and Kem Nwabudu finished with double-digit performances to give Longwood its third straight Big South loss. The trios effort was enough to overcome Longwood's two double-double performances by senior Dayna Rouse, her fifth of the season, and freshman Kyla McMakin, her first of her collegiate career.
Winthrop (8-9, 5-2 Big South) from the start leaned on Langstaff to pace the Eagles offense scoring a game-high 14 points in the first two frames of action on 7-of-9 shooting from the court. The Eagles led by as many as 12 points in the second quarter, but the freshman duo of McMakin and Anne-Hamilton LeRoy scored five points in the closing minutes to bring the Lancers within single-digits at the break.
Longwood (8-9, 4-4 Big South) used a 23-17 third quarter to cut the deficit to three-points to begin the final stretch. Rouse and LeRoy combined for 22 of Longwood's 33 second-half points, including a layup by Rouse at the mid-point of the fourth quarter to bring the Lancers's within two points of Winthrop.
The Eagles finished the final minutes of the contest on an 11-2 run that allowed Winthrop to remain unbeaten in conference play at home and defeat the Lancers, 74-63.
"We can score the basketball, so we are going to be in every game, but we have to find a way to get stops on defense," said head coach Rebecca Tillett. "We had a great string of seven stops in a row in the third quarter and made a run at them. We have to be more consistent, I thought they got too many easy shots on the interior against us tonight, and we turned the ball over too many times."
"As a staff, we have been challenging Dayna Rouse, and she responded tonight, said Tillett. "She played like a senior tonight and made some defensive plays that are technique plays. She knew what was going to happen and either got a deflection, steal, or block for us, and that was critical in our string of stops. It was a really great night for her."
For the second straight game, Dayna Rouse led the Lancers offense, recording her fifth double-double of the season, coming two blocks shy of her first triple-double. Rouse finished with a game-best 18 points and 10 rebounds. Adding to her offensive performance, Rouse set a new career-best with eight blocks.
"I was trying to stop Winthrop from scoring, my athleticism will help me do that defensively," said senior Dayna Rouse. "I was trying to be a leader, start a spark for our team by playing like a senior and being a leader."
"We need to get better at being consistent on defense. We have really good defensive possessions, and other times we have lapses," Rouse added. "We need to put everything together and play defensive for a whole forty minutes because it is not a question if we can score, it's can we stop our opponents consistently? Everyone knows going forward we need to work on defense, and that is an area that we are going to focus on in practice."
Joining Rouse with double-double performances was the Big South leading scorer, Kyla McMakin. The first double-double of her career, McMakin finished with 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. South Carolina native, Anne-Hamilton LeRoy, finished in double-figures as well, converting three of Longwood's three-pointers, contributing to LeRoy's 16 points.
Longwood battled in the paint against Winthrop, scoring 32 of their 63 points in the paint, with 15 points coming by way of second-chance opportunities. The Lancers finished with a season-high 51 rebounds, the first time Longwood has recorded 50+ rebounds since November 29, 2017.
"I thought our rebounding was excellent tonight," Tillett added. "We had women rebounding above their averages tonight, with Kyla McMakin finishing with 12 rebounds, Tra'Dayja Smith, and Mallory Odell getting nine rebounds was good for us."
Longwood will close out the week of Big South play by welcoming UNC Asheville to Willett Hall on Saturday, January 25. The Lancers and Bulldogs will tipoff at 3 p.m., and fans are encouraged to wear pink to participate in the "Pink out! Play for K" and will have the opportunity to support The Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
"I am excited about the matchup with UNC Asheville because of their style of play," Tillett finished. "We have gone through a stretch where we have had to face different styles, and I think Asheville has some similarities to us. The last time we lost three in a row, we came out and responded well, and that is what our team is intending to do."
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