FARMVILLE, Va. — Wednesday night in Willett Hall, the Longwood women's basketball program honored their seniors in their final home game of the regular season. 

 A fast start and dominating final frame from Longwood (11-17, 7-12 Big South) was too much for USC Upstate (8-20, 3-16 Big South) to handle as the Lancers capped off senior night with a 69-56 victory over the Spartans. 

"It was really important for our women to play for our seniors, Dayna Rouse and Jada Russell," said head coach Rebecca Tillett. "In this day and age in college athletics to have them commit to four years at the same university means something. For both of them to go through coaching changes and the ups and downs of a four-year career, and then be a part of a historic season is special for them. I thought our women did a great job of rallying for them."

Longwood finished with three Lancers in double-digits, while All-Big South Dayna Rouse and the conference-leading scorer, Kyla McMakin, eclipsed the 20+ point mark in the victory.

Rouse from the jump got the offense rolling as she converted her first of 12 baskets with only four seconds coming off the clock. Rouse finished with a season-high 27 points, shooting 12-of-17 from the floor. Adding to her incredible senior night performance, Rouse added 10 rebounds, recording her eighth double-double of the season. 

"All of my teammates were asking me if I was going to cry today since it is a sentimental moment to have my last regular-season game in Willett Hall after being here for four years," said senior Dayna Rouse. "I was ready to play hard in front of my friends and family. I am very grateful they were able to come from Pittsburgh and parts of Ohio to see me play. They do not make it to many games, but when they are here, they are my good luck charms. It just means a lot to have my family here tonight." 


After a big third quarter from the Spartans that gave USC Upstate a three-point advantage, the final frame was all Longwood as Kyla McMakin sparked the Lancer offense with nine of her 20 points in the frame, including two of her four treys in the contest. Longwood outscored the Spartans 20-5 in the final 10 minutes of action, as Longwood bested USC Upstate, 69-56. 

"We emphasized that we had to lock them down in the fourth quarter and stop them from scoring," Rouse added. "We did not want to go back and forth with USC Upstate, so we locked down on defense and finished the game out."

The win ends a seven-game skid for the Lancers and improves Longwood to 7-12 in Big South Conference play. The Lancers currently sit in the eighth seed, needing a victory against the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern to host the first round of the 2020 Hercules Tires Big South Championship in Willett Hall. 
 

"Charleston Southern is really important for us, as we hope to gain momentum going into the Big South tournament," Rouse finished. "We all have the same goal of winning against Charleston Southern to have home court advantage and momentum entering the tournament."

"I thought we did an excellent job of rebounding," Tillett added. "We feel that a couple of close games in that stretch where we were struggling came down to rebounding the ball. I think it was critical to today's success that our women stepped up our rebounding today."

Away from the ball, sophomore Akila Smith dominated the glass for the Lancers with a career-high 16 rebounds, the most by any Lancer this season. Smith, the conference leader in blocked shots, added four blocks and four points to her career-night on the glass. Longwood as a team out-rebounded the Spartans 46-41. 

Joining Rouse and McMakin in double-figures was freshman Anne-Hamilton LeRoy with 10 points, shooting a team-best 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. LeRoy added four assists to her double-figure scoring performance in the Lancers win. 

Assists are a vital element to Longwood's offense as the Lancers distributed a game-best 13 assists with Tra'Dayja Smith leading the way for Longwood's offense with six assists. 
 
Longwood's defense held the Spartans to single-digits to the first and fourth quarters in the win. The Lancers caused havoc on the defensive end, creating a total of 17 turnovers and blocking eight shots against the Spartans.

"It feels incredible when we get to talk about our defense playing to our standards," Tillett commented. "We spoke at practice about feeling strength when you get a stop, you do not want to feel relief, you want to feel strong, and that is what our women felt in the fourth quarter tonight. They gained strength in the final minutes." 


Standing between the Lancers and a home first-round playoff game in the 2020 Hercules Tires Big South Championship is the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern. The Lancers will need to sweep the season series against Charleston Southern to remain the eighth seed in the conference standings, the win will also match the program's record for Big South victories with eight. The Lancers and Buccaneers tipoff at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, March 7, in Buccaneer Field House. 

"You always want to be in control of your destiny, and that is the position we are in since we executed tonight," finished Tillett. "We need to go to Charleston Southern and play in a tough road game environment and do what we need to do to both secure momentum and have the opportunity to host a playoff game in Willett Hall."

#GoWood