BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - An Akila Smith double-double, complemented by a 21 point performance from Dayna Rouse could not hold off a late surging Gardner-Webb team that outscored the Lancers 21-14 in the final frame, including a three-pointer from Savannah Plentovich that put the Runnin' Bulldogs ahead with one second remaining on the clock, securing the victory for Gardner-Webb, 73-70. 

Longwood (10-12, 6-7 Big South)  had four starters finish in double-figures as Dayna Rouse paced the offense with 21 points, and Akila Smith posted the first double-double of her career with eight of her 12 points coming in the first ten minutes of action. Smith battled for the Lancers grabbing a game-best and career-high 12 rebounds. Away from the ball, Smith padded her stat line with a game-best five blocks.

"Coming off of our last game, I knew that as a team, we needed to be aggressive on defense," said sophomore Akila Smith. "My coaches challenged me to get rebounds and contest all shots and be the best defensive player on the court. Tonight my teammates had confidence in me and allowed me to be in positions to score, and it helped me play well tonight. Going forward, we need to play defense from the start of the game, not wait until the second half."

The loss marks the second straight in Big South Conference play for Longwood as Gardner-Webb (13-10, 8-6 Big South) split the season series with the home team winning both matchups. Longwood falls under .500 for the first time this season in conference play at 6-7 on the year. 

"It was a tough one to lose with under two seconds on the clock for Gardner-Webb to hit that three," said head coach Rebecca Tillett. "It was very familiar to our time here last year when she hit a three in almost that same spot. I loved Akila Smith's block to give us a chance at the end and secure the stop. We challenged our women after halftime, and we have been consistently challenging them on the defensive end, and the third quarter was exactly what we needed. I thought our women responded. Gardner-Webb was ready to go from the jump, especially offensively. It was just overall a tough game on the road." 

The Lancers trailed by as many as 13 points before the break, but Allysah 'Cookie' Boothe and Kyla McMakin combined for 10 points in the final five minutes before halftime to cut the deficit to only seven points. Carley Plentovich led the Runnin' Bulldogs offense with 11 points in the half.

After the break, Longwood controlled much of the third quarter with the Lancers using an 18-4 run to lead Gardner-Webb by nine points with one minute remaining in the third quarter. The Runnin' Bulldogs responded with a run of their own to regain the lead and take a two-point advantage over Longwood with under a minute remaining in the final frame. 

Rouse's last basket of the night evened the score at 70-70 with 12 seconds remaining in the contest. Savannah Plentovich, for the second year in a row against Longwood, used her third trey of the night to put the Runnin' Bulldogs back in front with one second remaining and ultimately secured the victory, 73-70. 

"You can never count us out, and that is what you hope for as you build towards the end of the season and playoffs," added Tillett."I know our women are not satisfied with tonight's outcome. We need to continue to get better at in-game situations with the highest priority being our defense. 

It has been a consistent theme for us that we need to be able to defend. It is not a question for us if we are going to put the ball in the basket. The question is, can we stop the best players on the opposing team, or if somebody gets hot in a game, can we adjust to stop them. I think the bottom line is we have to get stops consistently throughout the whole game."

Rouse finished the night shooting 9-of-14 from the floor with a game-best 21 points, this marks the fourth-straight time that Rouse has finished with 20+ points against Gardner-Webb in her career. The freshmen duo of Kyla McMakin with 17 points and Anne-Hamilton LeRoy with 12 points joined Rouse and Smith, finishing in double-figures. 

Five blocks tonight bring Akila Smith's season total to 48 and within seven blocks of breaking the single-season block record at Longwood. 

"I thought Akila Smith's rebounding that led to her double-double kept us in the game," finished Tillett. "She blocked five shots, but she alters a lot more. She is a big help for us on the defensive end. We challenged our women to recover Akila Smith's and Dayna Rouse's blocks, and I think we have made improvements on if the ball stays in bounds, we need to come up with it. When she is doing things well, it helps us be successful."

Longwood returns home for the only home game in a stretch of four Big South games that began today against Gardner-Webb. The Lancers and Pirates of Hampton University tipoff at 3 p.m. on February 15 as Longwood looks to even the series against Hampton. 

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