The Longwood women’s basketball team made the two-hour drive up to Harrisonburg last Wednesday to take on the Colonial Athletic Association preseason favorite James Madison (JMU).
From the opening tip, it seemed as though the Lancers were playing catch-up as the Dukes started the game on an 18-6 run. The team kept fighting, but ultimately the Dukes’ offensive attack proved too much as they pulled away in the second half, dominating Longwood by a score of 93-53.
In the aformentioned second half, the Lancers, after trailing by only 13 at the half, were outscored by 27 after the break.
“Certainly, we didn’t meet our own expectations. We knew that JMU was a veteran squad coming off a 29-win season, so you have to keep that in mind. That being said, nobody in our program is satisfied with the loss. Especially with the amount of points we gave up, our team took it personally," said head coach Rebecca Tillett.
Despite the result, Tillett said the team stuck to the game plan with the exception of defensive rebounding and transition play.
A major question mark for the team heading into the season was just how well the team would gel on the court with seven new players.
Tillett said, “In the first half, I thought there were some moments of chemistry, but you cannot take for granted the amount of time that people play with one another. We all have to work to know each other better and develop cohesion quicker because we’ll be going against lots of teams that have more cohesion than us just based on their roster.”
Tillett believed that there was much that the team could learn from a game like this.
“There were a few things that we tried that I think our women executed well from a game plan standpoint in the first half that could gain us a little bit of confidence. We are trying to maintain that confidence, especially after a third quarter that was detrimental to our defensive confidence” said Tillett.
Something that may inspire confidence in the team is the performance of freshman guard, Kyla McMakin. In her college basketball debut, McMakin scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
McMakin was highly-touted coming out of Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia where she averaged twenty-five point seven points and eighteen rebounds per game and also holds the school record for career points and rebounds.
“It was great. I was very nervous coming in," she said. "My teammates did a great job at making me feel comfortable. I took a few difficult shots, but they encouraged me to keep shooting. My coaches and my teammates allowed me to get used to the game fast. That really helps when you tell someone not to stop, but to keep going.”
McMakin said she feels that she is capable of producing on a consistent basis for the team.
“Definitely. As long as I don’t stay stagnant and expect to do well. Also, when my teammates start moving the ball, it’s inevitable that an open shot is going to come," she said. "I’d like to keep it going and not get shut down. I want to be able to produce for my team.”
The team then travelled to Gainesville, Florida to take on the Gators this past Sunday. Despite outscoring their Southeastern Conference (SEC) foe in both the first and fourth quarters, the team would fall 70-54, pushing their record to 0-2.
Lancer faithful will have their first chance to see this year's squad on Wednesday night, as the team plays host to UNC Wilmington at 7 p.m.
Head coach Rebecca Tillet oversees practices as her team prepares for early season tests against James Madison University and the University of Florida.
