TODAY'S STAR
Chelsea Coward, Longwood
Sophomore guard/forward led four Lancers in double figures with 18 points and added a career-high 7 assists as Longwood prevailed for the first time in nearly a month.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Lancers interim coach Bill Reinson was a winner in his Division I head-coaching debut. Reinson, who took over on Thursday after Kristin Caruso was fired, had previously been an assistant coach on Longwood's men's basketball team.
- Coward's 7 assists were two more than she'd dished out in Longwood's first 7 games combined.
- Virginia Tech lost for the first time in six home games and for just the 7th time in its last 80 games against non-conference opponents at Cassell Coliseum.
- VCU's Courtney Hurt notched her 7th straight double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds at Charlotte.
PREDICTION REPORT
Told ya! - Charlotte 68, VCU 65. We said: Charlotte 72, VCU 61. OK, so we weren't really that close. But hey, it's the only one we got right.
Uh, we can explain.... - Robert Morris 66, Virginia Tech 52. We said: Virginia Tech 65, Robert Morris 50. Actually, we can't explain this one at all.
Today's record: 1-3. Overall record: 69-21
THE GAMES
Longwood 74, Wright State 70: The Lancers (2-6) responded to the turmoil of the past week in the best way possible, as they laid waste to a six-game losing streak by posting a season-high in points. Sharing the ball was a key - Longwood's season-high 17 assists were 5 more than they'd produced in their last two games combined. Freshman Bria White, who played just 3 minutes in Longwood's last game, got 25 minutes Saturday and responded by hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers and scoring 14 points. Brittanni Billups also put up 14 points and Brittany Jones added 12 for Longwood, which also made 17 of 20 free throws. Hmmm, wonder if they gave Reinson a Gatorade bath....
Charlotte 68, VCU 65: A loss is a loss, but all things considered this seems like a solid result on the road against a solid 49ers club that has now won 5 straight and 7 of its last 8. The Rams (3-4) may have also discovered a solid offensive complement to Hurt in junior transfer Sonia Johnson, who scored 20 points on 7 of 8 shooting. It was the fifth career 20-point game for Johnson, who had four of them during her MEAC Rookie of the Year campaign as a freshman at Delaware State. It was also her second straight big game for the Rams; on Wednesday, Johnson had 19 points in VCU's 71-62 decision over Coppin State. If Johnson can keep this up and (hopefully) Andrea Barbour becomes eligible, the Rams will have some formidable firepower during conference play.
UNC Greensboro 73, Radford 58: We thought the Highlanders (2-6) had a chance to steal this one, and they had the game tied midway through the second half before UNCG broke with lights-out shooting after intermission (62.1 percent). Radford did get a breakout game from junior Kahealani Vick, who posted career highs of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Vick had scored just 14 points total in five games this season and had never gotten more than 8 points or 8 rebounds in any of her previous 55 games. In addition, Highlanders forward Brooke McElroy gobbled up 15 rebounds. But UNCG succeeded in slowing Highlanders star Da'Naria Erwin Spencer, holding her to single-digit scoring (9 points) for just the second time this season.
Robert Morris 66, Virginia Tech 52: We feared that the Hokies' offensive shortcomings would catch up with them at some point. Add in some leaky defense and, well.... At one point the Hokies (5-4) trailed by 28 points, so I suppose it's to their credit that they rallied enough to make the final score somewhat respectable. And Robert Morris is hardly a chump team; they won 23 games and reached the WNIT last season. Still, there's no way to sugarcoat it - this is an extremely poor result for a Tech team that, while young, should have had enough games under its belt to offer more resistance to these Colonials, especially in their own building.
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