Box Score
ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop got 22 points from its bench and used a 14-4 run midway through the second in a 54-46 victory over Longwood, Saturday evening at the Winthrop Coliseum in non-conference women's basketball action.
The win improves the Lady Eagles to 10-11 overall on the year and gives them a winning in its non-conference schedule at 7-6. It's only the second time in school history that Winthrop has had a winning record in non-conference games since its move to the NCAA Division I level. The previous time was in the 2007-08 season when the Lady Eagles had a 12-6 non-conference record. Longwood falls to 5-16 on the year and is the second straight opponent to be held under 50 points.
Katie Fitzgerald sparked the Lady Eagles off the bench as she paced the team with a career-high 11 points and five rebounds. She scored eight first half points and then hit a three during the 14-4 run that put Winthrop in front 49-40 after it trailed by one point with 14:22 remaining.
Chelsea Coward hit a jumper to put Longwood ahead 36-35 at the 14:22 mark, rallying her team from a 13-point halftime deficit. Winthrop withstood the strong effort by the Lancers and answered the run with one of their own. Coward finished with a game-high 19 points as she was 11-for-15 from the foul line and was the only Longwood player in double-figures.
Longwood outscored the Lady Eagles 16-2 to open the second half, mainly behind the free throw shooting of Coward. After Lacey Lyons hit a triple for a double-figure lead again at the 18:12 mark, Longwood reeled off 12 straight points. Coward was 6-for-7 at the foul line during the run that included an old fashioned three-point play to cut the lead to three points.
Winthrop went cold from the field during the first six minutes of the second half, going 1-for-8 from the field and turning the ball over four times, which allowed Longwood to get back in the game.
Both teams struggled shooting in the second half and neither team managed a field goal over the final 10 minutes. Fitzgerald's three with 10:16 left was the last field goal for either team. Winthrop held Longwood to 26 percent shooting (7-for-27), but managed only 25 percent shooting on 5-for-20. The Lancers kept the game close at the foul line hitting 12-of-19 in the second half and 17-for-26 in the game. Winthrop had issues at the foul line, connecting on just 12-for-27.
Winthrop trailed early 5-2 after a Brittanni Billups jumper in the lane, but went on a 13-1 run and opened up an 11-point lead with 9:53 left in the half. Winthrop was able to get the ball inside as eight of the 13 points during the run came in the paint. It started with a lay-in by Chantel Johnson. McClanahan made it 8-5 after a jumper in transition and then after Fitzgerald went 1-for-2 at the foul line, but the miss was boarded by Kaitlyn Rubino. McClanahan then found Fitzgerald open on the wing and she drained a three for a seven point advantage. During the run, Longwood was 0-for-6 from the floor and committed three turnovers.
The Lady Eagles held a steady double-figure lead for the remainder of the first half and even led by as many as 18 after TaQuoia Hammick scored inside on an over-the-top feed from Fitzgerald. Longwood ended the half on a 5-0 run
In addition to her team-best 11 points, Fitzgerald also had five rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block in 14 minutes of action. Rubino and McClanahan each chipped in with eight points while Lyons and Mary Hathaway had seven points.
Winthrop will get back to Big South action on Saturday, Feb. 12 when it heads to Conway, SC to take on Coastal Carolina. The Lady Eagles currently sit in sixth place, but are one game out of fourth.
