FARMVILLE, Va. – A double-double from forward Keyonna Allen (Forest Park, Ga.), a sizeable rebounding advantage and a hot shooting performance gave the Presbyterian College women's basketball team its second straight win with a 66-61 road victory over Longwood on Saturday afternoon.
PC improves to 7-17 overall and 5-10 in the Big South. The Blue Hose return to Templeton Center to host Liberty on Thursday at 7 p.m. Longwood falls to 7-17, 4-11 in league play and next travel to Gardner-Webb on Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Blue Hose outrebounded the Lancers by an incredible 40 to 13 margin and shot 50 percent (22-for-44) from the floor. PC improved on a 30-27 halftime lead and outscored Longwood on second-chance points, 19-2.
Allen posted a team-high 16 points and 12 rebounds for her third career double-double. Karlee Taylor (Asheville, N.C) added 15 points—all on three-pointers—and Sherece Smith (Clemson, S.C.) dished out seven assists, the 10th-most in a Division I game at Presbyterian College.
PC battled to a first-half lead and needed some work at the end of the half to get back in front.
After a tight start to the game, an 8-2 run—capped by a Taylor three-pointer—gave the Blue Hose a 15-9 lead with 11:07 left in the first half. Longwood clawed back to tie the game at 18-18, but two points from Aianna Kelly (Newport News, Va.) and a three from Kaycie Reffner (Altoona, Pa.) allowed PC five points of breathing room.
The Lancers rallied again to go up by four points with two minutes left, but more points from Kelly, Allen and Taylor made it a 30-27 score at the half in favor of the visiting Blue Hose.
Kelly finished the game as one of three Blue Hose in double figures , with 13 points—one shy of her career high. She also grabbed seven rebounds, second-most for any player in the game.
PC's lead swelled to five in the first two minutes after halftime before Longwood chipped away and led by five at the 12:15 mark.
An Allen layup and a Reffner trey pulled PC even for the seventh and final time of the day. Allen's bucket kicked off a run of eight straight points to push PC ahead by five, a lead they would sustain for the rest of the game.
With 7:30 left and PC ahead 53-47, the visitors notched seven straight points again to go up by double digits, 60-47. Noelle Carter (Neptune, N.J.) played strong down the stretch as PC's lead never dipped below nine until the final minute of the game.
