Longwood University Athletics

Game 28: USC Upstate vs. Longwood
Date	Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Time	7:00 p.m.
Location	Farmville, Va.
Game Notes	Longwood (PDF) | USC Upstate
Statistics	Longwood (HTML) | USC Upstate
Live Stats	Live Stats
Video/TV	ESPN+
Social Media	@LongwoodLancers | @LongwoodWBB

The Opening Tip 

•    Longwood returns to Willett Hall to honor seniors Dayna Rouse and Jada Russell in their last home contest for the Lancers on Senior Night.  

•    The Lancers enter play after ending a four-game stretch that included the top-three teams in the Big South and the No. 1 offense in the Conference. 

•    Records continue to be broken as the all-time single-season assists record was broken by junior Tra'Dayja Smith with 170 assists this season, as well as freshman Kyla McMakin, breaking the all-time freshman single-season point record with 503 points. 

•    Longwood is currently the No. 8 seed for the Big South tournament and would host the first round of the Hercules Tires Big South Championship.

Last Time Out

•    The two best offenses in the Big South Conference put on a show for spectators inside the Millis Center Saturday evening. Longwood saw a pair of single-season records fall after spectacular performances, but High Point led by Skyler Curran's 24 points powered past the Lancers, defending home court, 86-79 

•    Longwood had four Lancers finish in double-figures, as well as two Longwood season records, were broken in the loss. The Big South leading scorer, Kyla McMakin, finished with a game-high 25 points, breaking the Longwood single-season freshman scoring record of 484 points set by Marita Meldere in 2000-2001. 

•    The offense ran through junior point guard Tra'Dayja Smith. Smith, who recorded the only triple-double of the season for the Big South earlier this season, finished with her first double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-high 11 assists. Smith's 11 assists performance gives her 170 assists on the season and breaks the Longwood single-season record for assists set by Caren Forbes in 1986-87.

By the Numbers

•    Longwood's offense is one of the top offenses in the Big South Conference as the Lancers are averaging 67.9 points per game. Efficiency is a crucial characteristic for the Lancers offense, converting a conference-best .410 percent of field-goals taken this season.  

•     Offense is not all the Lancers bring to the court. Longwood's defense is one of the best in the nation in blocked shots, ranking ninth in Division I with 159 blocks and eighth in blocks per game, averaging 5.8 blocks per game. This marks the sixth Longwood team to record 100+ blocks dating back to the 2008-2009 season. 

•    Finding the open Lancer is key to Longwood's offense, and the Lancers are second in the Big South in distributing the ball. Longwood ranks second in the conference averaging 14.1 assists per game. 

•    The duo of All-Big South Dayna Rouse and the frontrunner for Big South Freshman of the Year Kyla McMakin are responsible for the offensive success the Lancers have experienced this season. McMakin has made an immediate impact in the Big South in her freshman campaign, ranking first in scoring at 18.6 points per game. Rouse averages 14.8 points per game and ranks seventh in the league. 

•    A five-tool player is rare, but Longwood has one in Dayna Rouse. Rouse finds herself in the top-10 in the Big South in scoring (14.8), rebounding (7.2), double-doubles (7) FG% (.534), blocks (2.0), minutes (33.4).      

•     Junior Tra'Dayja Smith has a knack for distributing the ball and finding the open Lancer. Smith leads the Big South and ranks sixth in Division I in assists, distributing an average of 6.5 assists per game. 

•    Blocks are a common theme for the Lancers' defense. Akila Smith set the single-season record with 64 blocks this season. Smith is one of two Lancers with 50 or more blocks this season as Dayna Rouse is closing in on Smith with 54 blocks this season. The pair of shot-blockers have combined for 118 blocks this season, with only USC Upstate as a team blocking more shots than the pair in the Big South Conference. 

•    Freshman Kyla McMakin broke Longwood's single-season freshman scoring record of 484 points set by Marita Meldere in 2000-2001. McMakin currently ranks 5th on the single-season scoring list with 503 points.  

•     Junior Tra'Dayja Smith broke the Longwood single-season assist record of 161 set by Caren Forbes in 1986-87 as Smith is currently at 170 assists and counting. 

•    Sophomore Akila Smith shattered the single-season block record as Smith is averaging 2.4 blocks per game, with 64 blocks this season. 

•    All-Big South Dayna Rouse became the first Lancer (male or female) with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 100 blocks in Big South Conference history.

Series History

•     Longwood (2-3) against USC Upstate enters the contest winners of their last two meetings with the Spartans.      

•    Head coach Rebecca Tillett is 2-1 in her tenure against the Spartans with victories in Farmville, and Spartanburg. 

•    The last meeting featured five Lancers in double-figures with Kyla McMakin leading the way with 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the floor. 

 

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