Coming off a tough loss to High Point two Saturday's ago, the Longwood women’s basketball team made a road trip to Rock Hill, SC, this past Tuesday, to take on the Winthrop Eagles, a team that, like Longwood, is trying to navigate the log jam that the Big South conference has been this season for women’s basketball, as the second through seventh place teams are all within one game of each other in conference play.
The Lancers matched the Eagles stride for stride in the first quarter as the period ended deadlocked at 14. However, Winthrop would catch fire in the second, outscoring Longwood 25-16 to take a 39-30 lead into the locker room. After making adjustments at halftime, the Lancers would grab the upper hand in the third, outscoring the Eagles 23-17. But on this night after cutting the lead down to only two points at one point, the home team would have the final say and clinch a 74-63 victory.
The Lancers were only able to muster ten points in the fourth quarter, which had its hand in allowing the Eagles to pull away late. Head coach Rebecca Tillett spoke on her teams struggles in the fourth quarter.
“It hasn’t been a consistent concern for us. I do think we need to find ways to come from behind and win, or just keep the lead and win. When we have the lead, we’ve been pretty successful towards the end of the game.”
Longwood’s starters played significant minutes as four out of the five who began the game played 36 minutes or more.
Tillett said, “In these tight conference races, there definitely comes a time where you’re really reliant on those women that have produced consistently. Every team has to face adversity at a certain point in the season, and we need people to be ready. I think we have women who are ready.”
In 39 minutes for freshman guard Kyla McMakin, she racked up 17 points and 12 rebounds, her first ever collegiate double-double.
Tillett said, “She was such a prolific rebounder in high school. To get 1,000 rebounds in a high school career, that’s really difficult to do. So for her to get a double-double, to her if feels like herself. She’s someone who can really rebound that basketball and our team needs it.”
McMakin is currently second in the Big South in scoring this season (17.3 points per game) and is one of two Lancers in the top three, with Dayna Rouse being the other (15.5 points per game).
“The scoring part is easy, it’s doing the little things that makes it hard. When people are doing the little things, you’ve got to give them the praise," said McMakin. "Our team has struggled with rebounding, so I’d like to be able to help in that area.”
McMakin gave much praise to her teammates and coaches and said they assist her in getting the opportunities she recieves.
Next up for the Lancers was a home date with a UNC Asheville team who came into the contest third in the Big South Conference.
McMakin after the Winthrop game said, “We have to come out ready to fight. We’ve been in this position before this season, and we’ve been able to bounce back. The last couple practices have been really good for this game and we’re prepared to end this losing streak.”
Facing adversity coming into the game, as junior transfer point guard Tra'Dayja Smith was out due to a minor injury, along with the aforementioned losing streak, bouce back is what the Lancers did, as they were able to handle the Bulldogs for a 73-56 victory.
The team got hot in the third quarter, outscoring Asheville 25-11 in the period, which propelled the team forward to their fifth conference win to push their record to 9-9 (5-4 Big South).
Led by 25 points from McMakin, the Lancers were able to solve the second leading scoring defense in the conference who came in only sacrificing just over 55 points per game.
In a postgame interview with Longwood athletics, McMakin said, "We definitely came out here with a different mindset, especially losing our starting point guard, and we came out here ready to defend and that's really what changed the game..."
Tillett said the team responded with an "attacking mindset" since the moment they heard they would be without the services of Smith, in an interview with athletics . She spoke highly of the performances of Anne-Hamilton Leroy (14 points and zero turnovers), Dayna Rouse (15 points) and the aforementioned McMakin, while also crediting her teams' defense for forcing 20 UNC Asheville turnovers.
She also said the bench had a great performance as far as contributions and energy provided.
The team will have a quick turnaround, as they will travel to Hampton and take on the Lady Pirates on Tuesday evening with a 7 p.m. tip.
Freshman guard Kyla McMakin (with basketball in hand) currently sits second in the Big South Conference in scoring at 17.3 points per game.
