Coming off a loss last time out against Gardner-Webb, Longwood’s Women’s Basketball returned to Farmville to play their final non-conference game against division-III Regent University on January 27.
The Lancers were massive favorites going into a game against a Regent side that only traveled with seven players. Despite a rather uncoordinated start, Longwood surged on a massive run spearheaded by a banner second quarter. The game wouldn’t get any closer as Longwood sprinted away with a 103-52 demolition.
Longwood started the first few minutes looking a bit confused on defense. This wouldn’t stay the case as the Lancers turned the game around and started to run away with it. The full-court press led to 14 steals in the first half alone. Janay Turner was front and center in this massive scoring run causing Longwood to storm out to a 64-23 lead at half. The last time Longwood scored 60 or more in one half was on December 12, 2015, against North Carolina Wesleyan.
After an exceptional first half, the Lancers continued the tempo in the second. At the start of the third quarter, Head Coach Erika Lang-Montgomery delved deeper into her bench. All 12 available players were involved in the game. Some remarkable stat lines came out of this game for both individual players and the team as a whole. The Lancers had 20 steals and shot 60% from the field, while freshman center Otiafo Esenabhalu shot 7-7 from the field and grabbed her first career double-double. The game proved to be a blowout from start to finish due to the massive gap in team strength, Longwood would beat Regent 103-52.
The final score was reflective of a complete team performance – this would be emphasized by the fact that every single Longwood player scored. The Lancers not only showed excellent team cohesion but they also showed just how much they have each others’ backs. Lang Montogmery said after the game, “That’s kinda us, that’s who we’ve been all season. Our chemistry has been phenomenal and I think that showed tonight on the floor.”
Esenabhalu also preached a similar message. Despite the best performance of her young collegiate career she was quick to thank her teammates. “I couldn’t do it without my teammates…they’re always telling me to stay patient.” The team spirit was off the charts, but milestones were also recorded. This was the first time Longwood scored over 100 points in a game since December 12, 2015 in the aforementioned North Carolina Wesleyan game.
Looking ahead to the rest of the Big South Schedule, Longwood women’s basketball plays High Point at home in the Joan Perry Brock Center on January 31. Janay Turner, the senior guard who led Longwood in scoring, talked about what the Lancers needed to do to beat the Panthers of High Point. “It’s gonna challenge us to guard the three-point line. They have three girls shooting 50%” Though Longwood played high-quality and complete basketball against Regent, their game on Wednesday against High Point will prove to be much more difficult. The winning momentum coming from the dominance over Regent may be a big factor in deciding that crucial Big South Game.
