6.17.2012 | Happy Father's Day

FARMVILLE, Va. -- It was early into the new millennium and 21st century … the 2002-03 winter sports season to be exact.  Average median incomes had risen from around $42,000 to $45,000.  The Department of Homeland Security, which was created in 2002 to fight threats of terrorism, officially began operations in 2003.  The birth of Prometea, the first cloned horse by Italian scientists, took place in 2003.  Spider Man topped the Box Office charts in 2002, while The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King reigned in 2003.  Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" was at the top of the Billboard chart for 2002, "In da Club" by 50 Cent in 2003.  "Friends" was the highest rated TV show in 2002.  Christopher Theodore Ruben Studdard became the second American Idol in May 2003.  The Detroit Shock, champions of the Eastern Division, defeated the Western Division Champion Los Angeles Sparks in three games to earn the 2003 WNBA Championship – its first league title.  It was also the season that Longwood advanced to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball East Regional Semifinals, while finishing a school-record 27-5.

The 2002-03 women's basketball team competed during Longwood's "exploratory" year before the school began its four-year reclassification to Division I.  The Lancers were in their final season as members of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) and Coach Shirley Duncan's team finished the regular season with a 23-4 record, including a 17-3 mark in conference play to take second in the CVAC.  Longwood rolled through the CVAC Tournament en route to winning the league's tournament championship, defeating Mount Olive (N.C.), 79-56, in the quarterfinals, Barton (N.C.), 67-53, in the semifinals and Lees-McRae (N.C.), 85-61, in the final.  The Lancers were 26-4, earning the #3 seed for the NCAA Division II East Regional Tournament.  Longwood promptly defeated #6 seed West Liberty State (W.Va.), 77-63, in a regional quarterfinal played at California University in Pennsylvania, led by the huge 28-point and NCAA Tournament-record 24-rebound performance of Marita Meldere. Unfortunately, the Lancers' record-setting campaign ended in the regional semifinals when falling to #2 seed Glenville State (W.Va.), 63-51, as Angel Johnson had 13 points.

Longwood enjoyed winning streaks that season of 11 games and seven games, while winning 18 of its final 20 games overall.  The Lancers were ranked No. 23 in the final USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II Women's Basketball Poll.  Longwood outscored its opponents by an incredible average margin of 17.7 points (79.9 to 62.2) and outrebounded the opposition by a quite decisive average margin of 12.1 (47.3 to 35.2), with an impressive turnover margin of +4.2.  The Lancers posted two 100-point-plus games, including a 104-83 home win past the District of Columbia on January 23, 2003, and a 101-56 home victory past CVAC opponent St. Andrews (N.C.) February 11, 2003.  Three of the five losses that year were by five points or less (two possessions).  Longwood won two tournaments during the regular season, as well, including its own C&L /Lancers Invitational and the West Virginia Wesleyan Invitational.

Team members included Kanee' Booth, Chelsea Bruce, Tokisha Burton, Leigh Farmer, Angel Johnson, Erica Marcum, twins Amber and Ashley Mason, Monica Mason, Toni Matkovich, Marita Meldere, Melissa Nafzger, Ebony Smith and Jessica Wilkerson.  Coach Duncan was assisted over the final 13 games that year by current women's basketball head coach Bill Reinson. The student managers were Leslie Murphy and Emily Key.  Meldere (15.1 points, 10.8 rebounds) was a Women's Division II Bulletin All-America honorable mention selection, as well as an All-CVAC 1st-Team honoree, CVAC Tournament MVP and the VaSID College Division Player of the Year.  Ashley Mason (13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds) was an All-CVAC 2nd-Team choice.  Johnson (9.3 points, 3.2 rebounds) and Amber Mason (7.7 points, 4.1 rebounds) were each placed on the CVAC All-Tournament Team, as well. Coach Duncan, who earned her 300th career win on January 11, 2003 (79-67 at Erskine, S.C.), was named both the WBCA Region 2 and VaSID College Division Coach of the Year.