Longwood women keep the streak going, win Big South opener

Published 6:44 pm Thursday, January 2, 2025

Mariah Wilson scored a team-best 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting, adding six rebounds, as the Lancers (10-5, 1-0 Big South) won their third consecutive game. Longwood went 19-of-32 from three floor after halftime, recovering from a sluggish start in which it was limited to just 10 makes and 32 percent in the first half.

“I think our attention to getting the ball inside,” said Longwood head coach Erika Lang-Montgomery said, referring to her team’s change in play after halftime. “Kudos to Presbyterian, they came out really strong, really aggressive and put us back on our heels early, but I think at halftime, we talked about getting the ball inside. We knew they were undersized and that worked in our favor.”

The Lancers pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Presbyterian, 23-16, in the period, while shooting a blistering 11-of-17 (64.7 percent), breaking open a game that featured eight tie scores and five lead changes.

Otaifo Esenabhalu collected her fifth double-double of the season and seventh of her career with 12 points and 11 rebounds, including eight points and five boards in the second half.

“She just has a knack for doing that,” Lang-Montgomery said of McIntyre. “That’s just her thing and so she’s our floor general … what she brings to us each day is huge on both sides of the ball.”

The win for the Lancers also stopped a three-game losing streak against Presbyterian (2-12, 0-1) and is only its fifth in a Big South opener since joining the conference for the 2012-13 season.

“It just really says the direction our program is going,” Lang-Montgomery said of reaching double-digit wins. “Our ladies work really hard everyday to be the best versions of themselves and so its really good to see that they are able to see the fruits of their labor.”

Longwood forced 30 Blue Hose turnovers, making the sixth time this season the Lancers have caused that many. The Lancers converted the PC miscues into 33 points, while also posting 52 points in the paint, 34 of which came after halftime.

Junior Jaci Bolden finished with 10 points — seven coming in the fourth quarter — and was the third Longwood player to land in double figures on the day.

Wilson tallied 13 points in the first half, helping Longwood trail by just one, 28-27, at the break.

A Shelby Fiddler bucket 30 seconds into the second half pushed the PC lead to 31-27 before the Lancers embarked on an 19-8 run for a 46-39 lead when Frances Ulysse hit a layup at the 2:44 mark of the third quarter. Ulysse scored eight points and pulled down three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

Fiddler led all players with 16 points and Paige Kindseth ripped down 16 boards for the Blue Hose, who outrebounded, Longwood, 48-36.

The Lancers next hit the road for Charleston Southern Saturday at 2 p.m.