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The Longwood women’s basketball team picked up its fourth consecutive home victory on Wednesday, defeating the Radford Highlanders by a score of 68-60. Adriana Shipp-Davis poured in 20 points as the Lancers were victorious once again in front of an energized Willett Hall crowd.

Longwood statistical leaders:

Points: Adriana Shipp-Davis (20)

Rebounds: Adriana Shipp-Davis (9)

Assists: Adriana Shipp-Davis (3)

 How it happened: 

Longwood (5-15, 4-5) opened the game slowly, falling victim to a stingy Radford (8-12, 4-5) defense that held them scoreless through the first three minutes of action. The Lancers trailed 9-2 at the six-minute mark of the first, but that would quickly change. Longwood conducted a 13-2 run throughout the rest of the quarter, as turnovers and active defense led the way for the Lancers. Despite the sluggish start, the Lancers found themselves carrying a 15-11 into the second quarter.

Longwood’s defense continued to impress to open the second frame, only allowing four points through six minutes of gameplay. Tough buckets inside from Adriana Shipp-Davis helped extend the Lancer lead throughout the quarter, culminating with a Milou Vennema triple to put the Lancers up by 12. However, the Highlanders showed some fight in the final minutes of the first half, rallying back to cut Longwood’s lead to four. Geassy Germano gave the Lancers some extra insurance in the final seconds with a nifty up-and-under move around the basket. The Lancers were ahead 30-24 after two quarters of play.

The beginning of the third looked familiar to fans inside Willett Hall, as defense dictated the pace of play on both sides of the floor. Radford continued to chip away at Longwood’s lead, but the Lancers gradually kept themselves ahead. A late push by the Lancers put them on top by ten courtesy of buckets by Germano, Shipp-Davis, and Steph Davis. Longwood’s double-digit lead would be short-lived, as the Highlanders tacked on two late buckets to set the score 46-40 headed into the final frame.

Radford had Longwood on the ropes in the beginning of the fourth, cutting their deficit to only two points. Despite this, the Lancers stayed composed, extending their lead back up to double-digits thanks to an array of Lancers buckets. Two Chardonnay Hartley free throws put Longwood ahead by eleven with just under a minute to go, and it appeared as if the Lancers had secured their victory. However, the Highlanders had one last push in them, scoring eight points in a matter of 17 seconds to cut Longwood’s lead to three. While it did get close at the end, the Radford rally would be in vain, as clutch free throws cemented a 68-60 victory for Longwood.

 What they said: 

“Rebounding helps you control the game by limiting our opponent’s opportunities to score as well as giving us extra possessions on the offensive end,” head coach Erika Lang-Montgomery said on the impact her team’s rebounding had tonight. “Proud of our efforts [on the glass] tonight!”

“From each game we gain more experience,” she added. “We hadn’t been in that situation before where we had a lead late and had to hold on to it. We made some big free throws down the stretch to come out on top.”

“When I first got to Longwood, I heard so much about the energy on game day in Willett,” said Lang-Montgomery on playing inside Willett Hall. “It’s awesome to see it play out every night. We appreciate the support of our community, our campus, and our student athletes! They have been huge the last few games in showing up and being a sixth man for us.”

 Additional notes for Longwood: 

Tonight’s game marked the 24th all-time Division-I matchup between the Lancers and the Highlanders. The two teams will face one another again on February 18th in Radford, Va.

Longwood has won each of the past four meetings against Radford, dating back to 2020.

The Lancers are on a four-game winning streak at Willett Hall and now hold a two-game overall winning streak.

Longwood was leading for 81.2% of tonight’s game.

Adriana Shipp-Davis led the Lancers with 20 points, her second consecutive game scoring exactly 20.

Shipp-Davis grabbed nine rebounds tonight, her second such game with nine or more boards on the year.

Steph Davis’ seven rebounds were a career-high for the junior guard.

Longwood outrebounded Radford 40-31.

The Lancers forced 21 turnovers, scoring 26 points off of them. It was the third consecutive game that Longwood has scored 20 or more points off of turnovers.

 Who’s up next? 

The Lancers will head south for their second matchup of the season against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. in Charleston, S.C.