March 6, 2010

Final Stats

FARMVILLE, Va. - The North Carolina Central University Lady Eagles (10-17) tied their record from last season after being clipped by Longwood University (9-19) Saturday evening, 67-43, in the opening round of the Longwood Tournament at Willett Hall in Farmville, Va.

The Lady Eagles were paced by Joanna Miller, who notched her third career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. She was one of three NCCU student-athletes to score in double-figures. Shanise Blanks went 4-for-12 from behind the arc to net 12 points, while Latoya Bennett added 11 points and seven rebounds.

NCCU will battle Seattle University (6-23) on Sunday, March 7 at 2 p.m. to conclude the Longwood Tournament. The two teams will meet in the consolation game as both teams look to claim third place. The Redhawks are coming off a 51-38 loss to Florida Gulf Coast University (23-6) earlier today. Longwood and Florida Gulf Coast will meet at 4:30 p.m. in the championship game.

Blanks was hot in the first half, but then grew cold as she netted all 12 points in the first stanza. That seemed to be the story of the night for the Lady Eagles, who shot 33.3 percent in the first half before falling to a 19.4 percent shooting performance in the second half. NCCU, for the first time this season, shot below 40 percent from the charity stripe to go along with a 26.6 percent shooting outing.

NCCU played tough on the boards, out-rebounding the tournament host, 47-45, with 14 of those coming off the offensive glass. Assisting Bennett and Miller on the glass was J'Mia Pollock, who grabbed seven caroms.

Longwood was led by Chelsea Coward, who notched her second career double-double with a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Coward went 9-for-15 from the floor. Krystal Garrison and Crystal Smith also contributed on offense for the Lancers with 17 and 13 points, respectively. Smith also had eight rebounds.

The Lancers scored 22 points off of the Lady Eagles' 24 turnovers, while dominating NCCU in points in paint, points off turnovers, second chance points and bench points. An aggressive Longwood defense allowed for just two lead changes and no tied scores as Longwood took the lead from the 18:18 mark of the first stanza.

Longwood scored the first basket of the game before a 3-pointer by Blanks put NCCU on the board and gave the Lady Eagles their first and only lead of the game. The host took a 9-3 lead at the 17:36 mark before NCCU managed to pull within one at 11-10 off another 3-pointer from the hands of the Lady Eagle sharpshooter Blanks.

The Lancers sparked a 10-0 run within the next 2:35 to take a 21-10 lead. NCCU managed to cut the deficit to six with 8:33 left in the half, but a determined Longwood team would not allow them to get any closer as they extended their lead to 19, their largest lead of the half, with 4:51 left to go. As the Lady Eagles continued to push, Longwood refused to back down, taking a 16-point lead, 44-28, into the break.

Blanks stood with 12 points at the break, while Miller had eight points and seven rebounds. Longwood was held scoreless from the free throw line as they were unable to hit from the charity stripe, while NCCU led from behind the arc, shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point land.

NCCU struggled to control the momentum of the Lancers as they came out of the break and quickly went on an 8-0 run, leading by 24 points. From that point on, NCCU was never less than 20 points down as the Lancers led by as many as 28 points with 5:08 left in regulation, their largest lead of the game.

Longwood improved to 9-19 on the season and earned their first victory over NCCU. The Lancers are now 1-3 against the Lady Eagles. NCCU dropped to 10-17 on the season and still stands one win away from surpassing their winning record from last season and just one win shy of claiming the best Division I record in NCCU history between both the men's and women's programs.

Lady Eagle fans can catch all of the action live online at www.NCCUEaglePride.com, where Paul Doherty will bring live play-by-play action from Willett Hall. Eagle Gameday, the pregame show, will air 15 minutes prior to tip-off. A live audio and video feed is available at www.longwoodlancers.com. Live statistics will also be available at www.NCCUEaglePride.com.

For more information on Lady Eagle basketball, visit the official website of NCCU Athletics at www.NCCUEaglePride.com.