FARMVILLE, VA. – Anne-Hamilton Leroy connected on a layup with two seconds to play, capping an 18-point rally as the host Longwood stunned the Presbyterian College women's basketball team by the score of 70-68 on Saturday afternoon at Willett Hall. Tilda Sjökvist led the Blue Hose with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting with five assists in the defeat.
FINAL SCORE: Longwood 70, Presbyterian 68
LOCATION: Willett Hall (Farmville, Va.)
RECORDS: Presbyterian (8-11, 4-4) | Longwood (4-15, 3-5)
Coach Sharp's Thoughts
"Disappointing finish for us today. We had moments where we executed and defended well enough to win but we really let their pressure affect our offensive flow. Once we got back on our heels they really took advantage of that in the second half. It is a part of our growing pains and all we can do is learn from it and keep getting better."
Scoring the Game
- After both teams traded early baskets, the Blue Hose responded in a big way on Saturday with an 11-2 run to push it to a 14-4 lead with 6:08 to play in the opening frame. The Lancers were able to battle back and cut the deficit to nine, 20-11, with 1:56 to play in the quarter before the two teams traded five-point bursts in the final minutes to lead to a 25-16 score after one quarter. PC posted a 62.5% field goal percentage in the opening frame to gain the nine-point advantage.
- PC began the second quarter with a 10-2 run highlighted by threes from Laila Grant and Sjökvist to extend to a 35-18 lead with 6:02 to play in the first half, which led to a timeout from the Lancers. The two teams struggled to score the ball over the remainder of the half, with a 5-4 Blue Hose advantage in the final six minutes and no points over the final 2:22 led to a halftime score of 40-22 for PC.
- After an early Bryanna Brady layup, the Lancers used a quick 5-2 burst to cut the deficit to 44-27 with 6:58 to play in the quarter. The two teams traded free throw stretches before a Mara Neira three gave PC a 48-29 lead with 4:32 to play in the third quarter. Longwood used a 10-2 run over the next two minutes to cut the Blue Hose lead to 11, 50-39, forcing a PC timeout with 2:09 to play in the quarter. PC answered with five of the final seven points in the quarter to take a 55-41 lead to the last 10 minutes on Saturday afternoon.
- The two teams traded points in the early going before a Grant three extended PC's edge to 60-44 with 8:40 to play. Longwood quickly cut it down to 62-49 with 7:47 to play before back-to-back Blue Hose layups made it 66-48 with 6:29 to play. The hosts would not allow PC to connect on a field goal over the final six minutes and go on a 22-2 run to pull back and stun PC on Saturday in Farmville.
Players of the Game
- Sjökvist led the way on Saturday with 16 points on 7-of-10 field goals as the Huskvarna, Sweden native, also made both threes and had five assists. Neira added 15 points with 6-of-10 field goals and three from beyond the arc. Grant tallied 11 points with three triples. Brady and Sonia Sato paced the Blue Hose on Saturday with six rebounds each. Sjökvist, along with Aubrie Kierscht, each had a team-high five helpers. Adriana Shipp and Janay Turner each led Longwood with 20 points as both connected on six field goals in the win. Shipp went 6-of-9 at the foul line, and Turner went 8-of-10 at the stripe. Hamilton-Leroy added 15 points for the Lancers. Brooke Anya led Longwood with five rebounds and tallied a team-high six steals. Chardonnay Hartley dished out a team-best four assists.
Stats of the Game
- PC shot 55.1% (27-of-49) as the Lancers posted a 37.1% (23-of-62) performance from the floor. PC connected on nine triples compared to three from the hosts. The Blue Hose went 5-of-7 at the foul line compared to a 21-of-30 performance from Longwood. The Blue Hose controlled the glass by 11, 37-26. PC distributed 16 assists compared to 13 from the host Lancers. Longwood tallied 18 steals as a part of 29 turnovers as the Lancers had a 32-5 advantage in points off of turnovers. PC had a slight edge in points in the paint by six, 34-28.
Notables
- Sjökvist, for the second time this season, led PC in scoring as she tallied her seventh double-figure scoring game with a team-high 16.
- Kierscht finished the game with a career-high five helpers, tied with Sjökvist for the team-high on Saturday.
- Grant added 11 points off the bench for her second double-figure scoring performance in her last three games. She's done most of her damage from deep, going 8-of-12 from beyond the arc in her last three as she made three triples against the Lancers.
- Neira matched her best performance in league play with 15 points connected on six field goals. She hit that mark at CSU earlier this month.
- The Blue Hose made nine threes on Saturday and have connected on 76 as a team in eight Big South contests averaging 9.5 per game in league action.
Up Next
- The Blue Hose return home on Wednesday for a matchup against UNC Asheville, with the tip set for 6:30 p.m. inside the Templeton Center on ESPN+.
