Longwood University Athletics

Game 10: Longwood (3-6, 0-0 Big South) vs. Richmond (5-4, 0-0 A10)
Date & Time	Wednesday, December 15, 2021 | 7 p.m.
Location	Farmville, Va. (Willett Hall)
Game Notes	Longwood | Richmond | Big South
Statistics	Longwood | Richmond | Big South
Live Stats	Longwood Live Stats
Video/TV	ESPN+
Social Media	@LongwoodLancers | @LongwoodWBB

The Opening Tip:

• Wednesday's night game will be the sixth time the Spiders and Lancers have faced each other, with Richmond having won the first five matchups. 
• Richmond is coming off a huge victory over William and Mary where six different players scored double figures.
• The Lancers are coming home for their first home game in a month – playing six straight on the road in Texas, Iowa and Pennsylvania.
• Adriana Shipp and Akila Smith each had a double-double at Drexel, the first time two Lancers have had a double-double in the same game since Feb. 26, 2021 when Shipp and Tra'Dayja Smith had matching double-doubles.
• This will be the first time Longwood and Richmond have matched up since 2014.

 
By the Numbers:

• Longwood has faced the second-toughest non-conference schedule in the Big South through nine games, facing the 53rd toughest schedule in the nation.
• After nine tough non-conference games, Longwood leads the Big South in steals (82), blocks (44) and blocks per game (4.9).
• Lancers are now ranked second in assists, behind Campbell in the Big South in assists with 117.
• Akila Smith has been one of the top shot blockers in the country this season. She ranks first in the Big South and tenth nationally in both blocks. She has 27 blocks on the season, good for 3.0 per game.
• Tra'Dayja Smith is the leading passer in the Big South, ranking first in the league and 13th in the country with 6.0 assists per game. In addition, Smith is ranked 15th in the country in free-throw percentage, shooting .926 from the free throw line.
• Longwood has at least one player ranked in the top five in each individual statistical category in the Big South.
• Kyla McMakin and Akila Smith are ranked third and fourth in the Big South in scoring, the second straight season the duo are in the top five.
• Akila Smith wrote her name in the Longwood record books again with her second career triple double, the third in team history, with a 20-point, 11-rebound, 10-block effort at Sam Houston on Nov. 30.
• Adriana Shipp also snatched up her second career double-double, first of the new season, with 10 points and 14 rebounds. 

Series History:

• This is the sixth time in history these two teams have met - the first under Rebecca Tillett.
• The Spiders have controlled the series, winning four of the five previous matchups by double digits. The closest game came in the 2013-14 season, with Longwood roaring back from a 21-point deficit with a 20-5 run in Willett Hall. Ultimately, the Spiders hung on for a 77-71 win.
• The last meeting between the two teams was in the Robins Center, and despite having eight different scorers, Longwood was unable to top the undefeated Richmond team at that moment of the 2014-15 season.

Quoteables:
 
"It's definitely frustrating to lose four in a row like we have, but I think as the team goes, we have enough confidence in ourselves to know what we are capable of, and we know that we have been playing really high quality teams. At this point, it's staying true to who we are and getting better every day in practice and taking it one game at a time while we finish off the non-conference schedule." – Junior Guard Anne-Hamilton LeRoy
 
"It's in our control with how much confidence we have, and we all want to get better for conference play. Of course none of us are going to be satisfied until we see the results we're working so hard to get, but I think you see the consistent growth so when we get to Big South, we are prepared to guard opposing actions." – Head Coach Rebecca Tillett

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