FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University women's basketball team dropped two Big South Conference road decisions last week to move to 9-11 overall and 6-3 in conference action. The Lancers fell, 83-66, at High Point University on January 24 before suffering a 91-58 setback at Liberty University on Jan. 26. Longwood will finish its road swing this week with a game at Coastal Carolina University on Jan. 31 at 7 p.m., followed by one at Campbell University on February 2 at 1 p.m.

Recapping High Point
High Point opened the game with seven straight points before freshman Deborah Headen|Herndon, Va. knocked down a pull-up jumper to get the Lancers on board. The Panthers hit another layup, but Longwood followed with six points in a row to make it a one-point game with 15:53 still to go in the first half. HPU scored back-to-back buckets from the paint, but LU quickly answered with an 11-1 run to take its first lead of the contest, up 19-14, with 11:09 remaining in the period. The lead would not stick, as HPU scored six unanswered to regain the upper hand at 20-19 with 9:39 remaining in the first. Longwood took the lead for its final time in the contest on a jumper from senior Crystal Smith|Richmond, making it 21-20, but HPU pulled away for good on the next play. The Panthers outscored the Lancers, 17-9, to go ahead, 40-30, at 3:27, and would go into halftime with a 45-37 advantage.

The hosts scored the first five points of the second half to make it a 50-37 game, but Longwood would not go quietly, using a 15-6 run over the next six and a half minutes to cut the buffer to just four once again, down 56-52, with 11:12 still to play. The Lancers would not come any closer, though, as HPU quickly regained a double-digit margin, up 64-54, with 9:25 remaining. High Point outscored the visitors, 19-12, in the final minutes to seal the 83-66 victory. Thursday's contest marked the 26th meeting ever between Longwood and High Point in the sport of women's basketball. The Panthers hold a 15-11 advantage in the all-time series.

Recapping Liberty
Longwood won the opening tip and took an early 8-2 lead with a pair of threes from senior Mieke Elkington|Hamilton, New Zealand and a layup from Headen. The teams traded buckets until Longwood scored six straight points to take its largest lead of the game, up 16-8, with 14:21 still to play in the first half. Liberty answered with an 18-3 run, taking a 26-19 advantage at 8:06. Longwood closed the gap to make it a one possession game at 28-25, but Liberty would not let it stay close for long, as the Flames scored the final 12 points of the half to take a 40-25 advantage into the break.

Coming out of halftime, Liberty outscored Longwood, 12-2, pulling ahead 52-27 with 16:18 remaining in the contest. The hosts maintained at least a 22-point buffer until Longwood scored 11 unanswered points to make it a 68-49 game with just over seven minutes still to play. The Lancers pulled within 19 on two more occasions, at 70-51 and at 72-53, but would not come any closer. The Flames closed the game on a 19-5 run to seal the 91-58 victory. Longwood and Liberty were meeting for the 29th time. The Lancers still hold a slight, 15-14 advantage in the all-time series.

Scouting Coastal Carolina
The Chanticleers are currently 8-12 overall and 3-7 in the Big South following a 73-62 victory at UNC Asheville on Jan. 26 in their most recent outing. Coastal Carolina, under the direction of 16th-year head coach Alan LeForce, is led by a trio of double-digit scorers. Junior Angelica Henry paces the squad with 10.6 points per game, while sophomores Shatia Cole and AJ Jordan are averaging 10.2 and 10.0 points, respectively. In addition, junior Katelyn Connor has a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game. As a whole, the Chanticleers are shooting 36% (429-1208) from the floor, 25% (62-252) from beyond the arc and 69% (221-322) from the line. When Coastal and Longwood met earlier this season, the Lancers secured a 77-63 decision on Jan. 19.

Scouting Campbell
The Fightin' Camels, who are 13-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big South, split a pair of games last week, taking an 83-77 decision against Radford on Jan. 24 before falling to Winthrop, 76-53, on Jan. 26. Campbell, under the direction of 32nd-year head coach Wanda Watkins, is paced by senior Tonisha Baker with 14.3 points per game. Sophomore Kiera Gaines has added to the offensive effort with 10.7 points. Gaines has a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game so far this season, as well. CU will host Liberty on Jan. 31 before squaring off against Longwood on Feb. 2. As a squad, the Lady Camels are shooting 42% (509-1223) from the floor, 37% (100-273) from beyond the arc and 72% (248-344) from the line. When Campbell and Longwood met earlier this season, the Lancers earned a hard-fought, 77-75 victory on Jan. 17.

Leading the Charge for Longwood
Through 20 games, Crystal Smith paces the squad with 16.4 points per game. Senior Chelsea Coward|Mechanicsville is second on the team with 15.5 points per game. Coward leads the team with 8.4 rebounds per game, as well. Freshman Daeisha Brown|Richmond rounds out the double-digit scorers for the Lancers with 13.1 points per game. As a whole, Longwood is shooting 37% (459-1243) from the field, including 30% (133-448) from three-point territory, and 69% (258-374) from the free throw line.

Player of the Week
Crystal Smith was named the Big South Conference Women's Basketball Choice Hotels Player of the Week twice this season: on Jan. 7 and on Jan. 21, both times after leading the team to back-to-back conference home wins. The senior averaged 27.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists, while shooting a perfect 100% (16-16) on free throw opportunities through two games to earn the honor on Jan. 7. In addition, on Jan. 3, the senior guard set a new career high with 32 points, including a personal-best 12 made free throws against Gardner-Webb. She followed that performance with her first double-double of the season, tallying 23 points and 11 rebounds, against Winthrop. She garnered her second award by averaging 26.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 38.5 minutes in two games. The 5-8 veteran guard made a career-high 11 field goals to tally her second 30+ point game of the season and propel Longwood past Campbell, and followed that performance with a 20-point, eight-rebound effort against Coastal Carolina.

Freshman of the Week
Daeisha Brown was named the Big South Conference/The Crons Brand Freshman of the Week twice this season: on Jan. 2 and on Jan. 7. She was first recognized for her performance in a three-game span, during which she shot 60 percent from the field, averaging17.3 points and 6.3 rebounds, and tallied her second double-double of the season, along with a personal-best seven steals to help lead the Lancers to their first-ever Big South win at Radford on Dec. 29. Most recently she was honored for her role in the squad's two consecutive, conference home wins in which she notched 17.0 points per game and added seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

In the Record Books
Chelsea Coward surpassed 1,000 career points at Arizona on Dec. 20. The senior became the 19th member of Longwood's prestigious 1,000 Point Club and the first to achieve the milestone in the program's Division I era. (last: 2005-06, twins Ashley and Amber Mason). Coward then posted five boards to achieve 500 career rebounds against Gardner-Webb on Jan. 3 (504). Coward is currently fifth on Longwood's all-time record list with 105 made three-point buckets. She is also 10th in the program's history with 88 blocked shots.

Approaching Another Milestone
With her seven points against High Points, Crystal Smith totals 999 career points. She is just one point shy of becoming the 20th member of Longwood's 1,000 Point Club and the second this season to do so. If she reaches 1,000 points, it will mark the fourth time in program history that two players achieved the career milestone in the same season.

Doubling Up
Chelsea Coward opened her senior season with a double-double (16 points, 15 rebounds) at Richmond on Nov. 9. She then notched a double-double in three consecutive games: against Murray State (Nov. 17 – 15 points, 17 boards); at Coppin State (Nov. 20 – 18 points, 11 boards); and at Pitt (Nov. 26 – 17 points, 10 boards). She added another at Radford (Dec. 29 – 19 points, 12 boards), against Winthrop (Jan. 5 – 15 points, 11 boards), at Charleston Southern (Jan. 12 – 23 points, 12 boards) and against Coastal (Jan. 19 – 15 points, 11 boards) for a total of eight this season. She has posted double-digits points in all but one game this season.

Performing Under Pressure
The Lancers have performed well in close games this season. The squad is a perfect 3-0 in games decided by five or less points.

Comeback Kids
The Lancers have a knack for making things interesting this season, mounting several second-half comebacks. The team has trailed at halftime in seven of the nine games that it has won so far this year. And of the seven games that the squad has come back to win, Longwood faced a double-digit, first-half deficit in four of them (Air Force – down by 12, Gardner-Webb – down by 18, Campbell – down by 11, Coastal – down by 17).

Under Control
As a team, Longwood has exhibited more ball control since beginning conference play. The squad set a season best with just seven turnovers against Gardner-Webb on Jan. 3. Longwood is averaging s league-best 12.8 turnovers per game against Big South opponents, compared to an average of 16.1 turnovers against all opponents this season. The team is currently second in the conference with a +3.20 turnover margin.

Big South Stats
Longwood currently leads the conference with 6.7 three-pointers made per game and is second with a 3.20 turnover margin. The squad is ranked fourth in scoring offense (65.4) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (0.7). The Lancers are also sixth in steals (65.8). The Lancers are also ranked fifth in free throw percentage (.699), and sixth in steals (9.3) and free throw percentage (.690). Smith is third in the Big South in free throw percentage (.808), and fourth in scoring (16.4) and assists (4.2). Coward is third in blocked shots (1.7) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.347).

Home Sweet Home
With conference affiliation comes the promise of at least nine home games every year. In 2012-13, Longwood plays 11 contests inside the friendly confines of Willett Hall, where the squad has always fared well. LU posted a 5-3 record at home last season and is 5-1 so far, giving the program a 36-27 record in Farmville since becoming Division I-eligible in 2007-08 (five seasons). The Lancers are a perfect 4-0 in Big South Conference games played in Willett Hall.

Coaches and Captains
Longwood is playing in 2012-13 under the direction of third-year head coach Bill Reinson. He is assisted by Wanisha Smith, Sarah Williams and Adria Crawford. Seniors Chelsea Coward and Erin Neal are serving as captains for the first time in their respective careers.

Up Next
Following the team's games at Coastal Carolina (Jan. 31, 7 p.m.) and Campbell (Feb. 2, 1 p.m.), Longwood returns home to host High Point on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.