The Opening Tip
•   Longwood brings in the new year by welcoming USC Upstate to Farmville for its third conference series of the season.
•   The Lancers have split their first four conference games of the season, winning two at home while dropping two road games.
•   Longwood enters the game having won three straight at home. The team took down Radford twice to open Big South play followed by a win over then-unbeaten Howard. Since the beginning of last season, the team has posted a 10-10 record in Willett Hall.
•   The unique Big South conference schedule features back-to-back games on consecutive days, and it will pit Longwood against every Big South team, with five of the series occurring on the road and five at home.
•   The Lancers feature four players averaging double-digit points for a squad that has the top-ranked offense in the Big South at 73.2 points per game.
Kyla McMakin (18.1),
Akila Smith (14.0),
Anne-Hamilton LeRoy (12.2) and
Tra'Dayja Smith (10.0) are all in the top 20 in the Big South in scoring.
Last Time Out
•   A big third quarter and a career high 26 points from Kai Carter propelled UNC Asheville past Longwood 68-52. The Lancer defense kept squad in the game early despite an ice cold night shooting the basketball for Longwood, as Longwood trailed by five at the half.Â
•   The Lancers held UNC Asheville to .300 shooting (9-30) from the floor in the first half and .375 (21-56) for the game, but it was a big third quarter that allowed the Bulldogs to break open the tight contest. Asheville went 7-9 from the floor while hitting all three of the team's three-point attempts to expand a five-point halftime lead to double digits entering the fourth quarter. The Lancers battled but couldn't buy a bucket throughout the game against a stiff UNC Asheville defense. Longwood shot .232 (16-69) from the floor.
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Akila Smith had her sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 17 boards, and
Kyla McMakin led the team with 18 points.
By The Numbers
•    Longwood's offense leads the Big South at 73.2 points per game, one of two offenses averaging at least 70 points per game. The Lancers have scored at least 80 points four times, going 3-1, with the three wins being by double digits. The team scored at least 80+ only three times in 2019-20.
•    The Lancers are the only team in the Big South with four players averaging in double digits in the scoring column.
Kyla McMakin leads the way with 18.1 ppg, good for second in the Big South, while
Akila Smith (14.0 ppg, sixth),
Anne-Hamilton LeRoy (12.2, 11th) and
Tra'Dayja Smith (10.0 ppg, 20th) are in the top 20.
•    Longwood has pounded the offensive glass and has been the best offensive rebounding team in the Big South this season. The Lancers average 18.1 offensive boards per game and have grabbed at least 15 rebounds seven times this year. Their season high of 33 came against UNC Asheville on December 30.Â
•    Thanks to the focus on offensive rebounding, Longwood has piled up 156 second-chance points across nine games thanks to 163 offensive rebounds.
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Akila Smith has led the charge to the backboard by posting a team-best 51 offensive rebounds, best in the Big South (third in the nation at 5.7 per game).
Brooke Anya has added 17 offensive rebounds, good for second on the team, and the Lancers have four players who have grabbed at least 15 offensive boards: Smith, Anya,
Mallory Odell and
Kyla McMakin.Â
•    Longwood's defense has been aggressive all season. The team is second the Big South in blocked shots (5.0 blocks per game), is second in turnovers forced (162) and third in steals per game (9.2). In two games against Radford, both wins, Longwood forced a combined 34 turnovers that lead to 44 points.Â
•    Over the past five games, Longwood's defense has held opponents to .377 shooting (114-302) from the floor. The Lancers have gone 3-2 in that stretch while averaging 8.8 steals per game to go with 6.2 blocks per game.
•    On the season, Longwood has scored 149 points off turnovers, which translates to 22.6 percent of the team's points. Against ETSU, Longwood forced 32 turnovers, the most in a single game in the team's three seasons under head coach
Rebecca Tillett.Â
•    Three players rank in the top 10 in the Big South in steals.
Tra'Dayja Smith (2.1 steals per game, 19 steals) ranks third,
Kyla McMakin (2.0 steals per game, 18 steals) ranks fourth and
Akila Smith (1.7 steals per game, 15 steals) ranks ninth.Â
•  Longwood has been lights out from the free throw line this season. The team's .782 percentage (133-170) from the charity stripe ranks second in the Big South. Three Lancers sit in the top five of the Big South leaderboard in free-throw percentage in
Kyla McMakin (.895, 34-38, second),
Anne-Hamilton LeRoy (.854, 41-48, third) and
Tra'Dayja Smith (.839, 26-31, fifth).
Series History
•   The Spartans and Lancers face off for the seventh time in program history, and for the third season as Big South opponents.    Â
•   Longwood has won the previous three matchups, and owns a 3-1 record in Big South Play against Upstate.Â
•   Their most recent matchup came on March 4, 2020, as
Dayna Rouse scored a season-high 27 points on senior night at WIllett Hall to down the Spartans, 69-56.Â
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