Longwood University Athletics

Game 29: USC Upstate vs. Longwood
Date	Saturday March 6, 2020
Time	3:00 p.m.
Location	Charleston, S.C.
Game Notes	Longwood (PDF) | Charleston Southern
Statistics	Longwood (HTML) | Charleston Southern
Live Stats	Live Stats
Video/TV	ESPN+
Social Media	@LongwoodLancers | @LongwoodWBB

The Opening Tip 

•    Longwood visits the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern for the regular-season finale, looking for a repeat performance of the 84-64 victory of when CSU visited Willett Hall. 

•    The Lancers enter play needing a win to secure the No. 8 seed for the Big South Conference tournament and host the opening round of the tournament on March 10 in Willett Hall.  

•    Longwood is seeking to match the program record for Big South Conference wins in a single-season of eight, set by the 2012-2013 team. 

•    Freshman Kyla McMakin is the fourth freshman in Big South women's basketball history to eclipse the 500 points, joining Erica Williams of Winthrop and Kaylah Keys of High Point (2013-14) and Elena Kisselva of Liberty (1996-97).

Last Time Out

•    A fast start and dominating final frame from Longwood was too much for USC Upstate to handle as the Lancers capped off senior night with a 69-56 victory over the Spartans. 

•    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.

•    Dayna 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. 

•    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.

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 167 blocks and eighth in blocks per game, averaging 5.9 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 18.7 points per game. Rouse averages 15.3 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 (15.3), rebounding (7.3), double-doubles (8) FG% (.543), 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 fourth 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 67 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 57 blocks this season. The pair of shot-blockers have combined for 124 blocks this season, more than any other team 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 523 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 176 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 and Charleston Southern meet for the 21st time with the series advantage in favor of the Buccaneers, 11-9.      

•    The Lancers have the opportunity to sweep the season series as Longwood was victorious earlier this season in Farmville, defeating Charleston Southern 84-64. 

•     The Previous meetings between the Lancers and Buccaneers saw junior Tra'Dayja Smith finish with the first triple-double performance in Longwood's Division I era (12 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists).

 

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