Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Sophomore Amor Harris knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner with 2.3 seconds remaining to lift the Longwood women to a come-from-behind 73-72 victory over Charleston Southern in Big South Conference action at Buccaneer Fieldhouse on Saturday.

On a sideline out-of-bounds play, Kiki McIntyre found Harris at the top of the key, who fed Mariah Wilson. Driving on a Charleston Southern defender, Wilson spun and kicked the ball to Harris in the corner, who buried it.

“I mean, she is the epitome of time and work,” Longwood head coach Erika Lang-Montgomery said of Harris. “That doesn’t happen without the work and the time that she has spent in the gym. And so, just really proud of her. You know, she had an off night on Thursday against Presbyterian, but really just came in focused today and, played two solid halves and obviously hit a big, big shot late game for us to take the lead to get the win.

“That was just a great kick out for Mariah to find Amor on the perimeter,” said Lang-Montgomery added. “I’ll just say, too, about Amor. I mean, her teammates believe in her.”

The Buccaneers had a chance to tie, but Longwood played strong defense, forcing a trey from the near corner by Catherine Alben that went long at the buzzer.

“They needed a shot and we knew that it was probably going to go in [Alben’s] hands. Lang-Montgomery said, explaining the final defensive possession. “She’s their clutch performer — she finished the night with 23. And so, the only thing we knew that could really hurt us is if we fouled or if we didn’t have our hands up to contest. And so, I thought we did a good job of getting out to her and making that last shot difficult.”

Harris ties career high in win

Harris scored a game- and career-high-tying 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, to help the Lancers improve to 11-5 overall and 2-0 in the Big South with their fourth consecutive victory.

Longwood used a 12-0 run, ignited with pesky defense and eight points from McIntyre, to open a 62-55 lead — its first of the game — one minute into the fourth quarter. The stretch was punctuated with a Wilson layup following a steal from Harris.

“We came out aggressive to start the second half,” Lang-Montgomery said. “I think we scored first, but then they went and scored. It was kind of back and fourth. And then, they extended their lead again in that third quarter. And then, I don’t know what clicked, but we were able to get a couple stops in a row. That’s what we had talked about, that we wanted to get three kills in that quarter.”

Charleston Southern (5-10, 1-1) battled back to take a 68-66 edge with 3:47 left with a Kiki Nichols basket before Frances Ulysse responded with a turnaround jumper in the paint on the next possession. Nichols hit another shot with 2:50 to play as Charleston Southern retook a 70-68 lead.

Otaifo Esenabhalu, however, found Wilson down low, who put it in over a defender and was fouled, to tie it once again at 70-all with 33 seconds on the clock. Wilson missed the ensuing free throw, while CSU’s Alaina Nettles made two of her own with 12.3 second to go, setting the stage for the Harris winner.

Lang-Montgomery said she didn’t get a clear view of the play in the corner.

“I was just like, ‘Is it a two or three?’ And I’m like, ‘Alright, do we tie it or do we take the lead?’ And so, I saw the official’s hand go up, and I was like, ‘Yes!'”

The Bucs put up a fight

The Bucs led throughout the first half, scoring the game’s first eight points, shooting 51.6 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Longwood women trailed, 24-19, after the first quarter and 43-41 at the half. The Lancers, though, did their part to stay with CSU, shooting 15-for-30 from the field in the first half and made all eight of their free throws.

McIntyre scored 13 points five assists and four steals on the day, while Wilson had 10 points three rebounds and three assists. Tyonna Bailey (16 points) and Nichols (13) joined Alben in double figures for the Bucs.

What’s next for Longwood women?

The Lancers, 2-0 in the league for the fourth time in six seasons, are back in action Wednesday at UNC Asheville. Tip time is 6:30 p.m., on ESPN+.