Lancers Hosting George Mason in Pack the House Night

With Writting by Derek Poe
Rotunda ReporterThe Longwood University women's basketball team looks to pack the house when they take on in-state rival George Mason University Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. in Willett Hall. The Patriots (0-6) come into the matchup in Willett Hall having lost 13 consecutive games dating back to last season with their last win coming in February when they defeated Delaware.

Women's basketball's last home game was against the now 6-0 Richmond Spiders in which the Lancers fell behind early in the game when the Spiders went on a 14-2 run in the first five minutes of the game leaving a final score of 72-47 Richmond. The game marked the 14th matchup between the two teams and left the series at 7-7 with each of the two sides winning seven of the games they have played.

The Lancers followed up with a road match against 5-2 Syracuse University in which senior Amber Sims and freshmen Kayla Loughner and Brittanni Billups led Longwood in scoring with six points each. Longwood was off to a good start keeping the Orange lead in the single digits for the first 10 minutes of the game, but their effort was not enough to stop the onslaught of the Orange who held a 17-point advantage at the half. The game ended with a dismal 72-40 leaving the Lancers at their current record of 2-4.

In the three Lancer losses, the team has failed to display an offensive threat
scoring 42, 40 and 47 points respectively.

On the defensive end, the Lancers have allowed an average of 65.6 points in their past three games including defeats by 32 and 25 points. The upper echelon of competition the Lancers are facing is part of the reason for the level of play as they are competing against highly-rated opponents. Games against Big East, Atlantic 10, ACC, and CAA opponents prove that the Lancers are improving their chances of being recognized on a national level. Second-year head coach Kristin Caruso holds an 18-17 record in her short time at Longwood. Adding seven new freshmen to her team, Caruso's program is unique in that she is giving the seven new players significant playing time on the court.

Caruso is trying to instill in her players a strong work ethic. "Sometimes I'm a little tougher than I'd like to be, but it's necessary with such a young team," she said at a media luncheon earlier in the semester. "They're starting to understand how hard they're going to have to work."

Freshmen are leading the team in four statistical categories including free throw percentage, blocks, three-point field goals and three-point field goal percentage. The game against George Mason should be a new challenge for the Lancers as they rally behind the brisk play of junior Becky Fernandes. Heading into tomorrow's game, Fernandes has started every game and is leading the team in minutes played, assists and points per game. The Lancers will need the leadership from Fernandes in order to defeat the Patriots who are hungry for a win. While thte Patriots are winless under first-year head coach Jeri Porter the Lancers cannot afford to take them lightly. Caruso looks to her experienced players to pave the way for the younger players who are accepting large team roles.

The emphasis of the season has been to gain confidence on the court and to build up trust with their coach according to freshmen Morgan Smith, Billups and Loughner. Everything they have focused on off the court will aid them in any match of the season if Caruso has anything to say about it. "We do have more of a running ability this year as opposed to last year where we [just] held mid-court well," she said. The combination of the two could lead the Lancers to a 3-4 record.

After Thursday's home game, the next stop for women's basketball will be the North Florida Holiday Classic where the Lancers will go up against 4-0 North Florida and 6-0 Jacksonville State.

Longwood will have two home games after break against Kennesaw State Dec. 21 and Columbia University on Jan. 7, as well as hosting Central Connecticut State and NJIT for Lancer Classic the weekend of Jan. 2-4.
The first home game next semester will be against the 1-4 University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Willett at 5 p.m. on Jan. 21.