Longwood University Athletics issued the following announcement on Feb. 20
Longwood concluded their third game in five days in Hampton on Sunday with a win over the Pirates 77-51.
Coming into the game, Longwood (16-11, 13-3 Big South) sat tied for second in the Big South with Gardner-Webb. Going 3-0 last week, the Lancers now sit tied for first in the Big South with only two games remaining in the regular season.
The power of the "Smith duo" led the Lancers with a combined 33 points. Tra'Dayja shot .500 from behind the arch, and grabbed 12 of those points in the first half alone all from three. Smith finished the game with 16, and added seven assists to her slate (143).
Adriana Shipp brought the fire off the bench and went 2-2 from three immediately, grabbing six quick points to extend the Lancers lead. Akila Smith showed off her magic in the paint scoring 17 (7-12 FG), all while grabbing eight rebounds, just shy of another double-double. The reigning Big South Defensive Player of the Year, Smith also added another block and two steals on the other end of the court.
The team shot an astounding .905 percent from the charity strip, with Kyla McMakin being one to contribute to that percentage. McMakin went 7-8 from the free throw line, hitting one to mark her 1,500th point of her career at Longwood. She now sits in fourth place with career points in the program in only her third active year. McMakin finished with 14 points and extended her double-digit point streak to 16 games.
The Lancers mark their 13th win in conference play, the most ever done by any team in the division I era. Ten Longwood players contributed on offense to the 26 point victory over Hampton on Sunday. Defensively, Longwood was able to out rebound the conference foe by 10, fighting for a total of 45 rebounds on the day.
For Hampton (10-14, 6-8 Big South), it was Jermany Mapp and Nylah Young leading the offensive push for the Pirates. Young finished with 15 points shooting a solid 6-10 from the field. Right behind Young, Mapp added 10 to the Pirates final points, combining for half of the team's final score. Hampton currently sits in the middle of the pack going into the final week of regular season Big South competition.
Longwood has two more games remaining this week before post season play kicks off. The Lancers will take on USC Upstate on Wednesday for a regular season rematch in South Carolina. Then, Longwood will honor its two seniors, and one super-senior on Saturday at 3 p.m. once against facing the Hampton Pirates.
Original source can be found here.
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