Farmville, V.A. – Winthrop women's basketball will travel to Farmville, V.A. in search of its first win in five games when they face the Longwood Lancers in a two-game series, Jan. 15-16. Tip-off for both games is set for 6 p.m. inside Willett Hall.
WINTHROP (2-7, 1-5 Big South Conference)
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 24th and 25th time the Eagles and Lancers will meet. Winthrop currently holds a 15-9 all-time record. The Eagles have won 6 of the last 10 meetings, 4 of the last 5.
WINTHROP EAGLES
Winthrop women's basketball is coming off back-to-back loses to the High Point Panthers, 61-43 in Game 1 and 58-41 in Game 2. In the first meeting, the Eagles were led by senior
Anika Riley who recorded 12 points and 8 rebounds. In the final meeting between these two teams in 2020-21, the Eagles recorded a season-low five turnovers. Winthrop women's basketball currently leads the conference with its +3.9 rebounding margin. The Eagles have out rebounded 5-of-9 opponents and are led by
Sydney Hunter, who has moved up to 8th best in the conference, averaging 7.2 per game.
NEW LEADER AT THE HELM
Semeka Randall Lay has taken over the Winthrop women's basketball program after serving as Associate Head Coach last season. Randall Lay in a 2000 graduate of the University of Tennessee, where she was an integral part of Tennessee's 1998 NCAA Championship team that went 39-0, averaging 15.9 points a game while earning honorable mention All-America recognition. She was drafted 17th overall in the 2001 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm and spent four years in the league. Randall Lay brings eight years of head coaching experience with an overall career record of 67-176.
MILESTONE TRACKER
Anika Riley has recorded 674 career rebounds and needs just 22 more to take sole-possession of 10th best in program history. Graduate transfer
Madison Ervin needs 166 points this season to record her 1,000 collegiate career point. She has made stops at Mars Hill, Cape Fear Community College and Georgia State. Junior
Maleeah Langstaff is coming up on her 100th career assist, needing just 20 more to reach that milestone.
LONGWOOD LANCERS
Picked to finish 6th in the Big South Preseason poll, the Lancers enter the weekend series with a 6-7 overall record and a 5-2 mark in conference play. Longwood is coming off a huge buzzer-beating win over Campbell. Longwood trailed 52-51 with 3.5 seconds to play, when sophomore Kyla McMakin nailed a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Lancers the win. McMakin, who was named to the preseason all-conference first-team, leads the team averaging 18.3 points per game, second best in the Big South. Akila Smith and Anne-Hamilton Leroy are also averaging double-figures, 14.6 and 11.4 points per game respectively. The Lancers currently lead the conference in scoring offense, free throw percentage, rebounding offense, blocked shots and offensive rebounds. The Lancers are led by third-year head coach, Rebecca Tillett. The Lancers posted a 12-18 overall record in 2019-20 and were eliminated in the first round of the Big South championships by the Presbyterian Blue Hose. Longwood has secured sweeps over Radford and USC Upstate and took 1-of-2 from Campbell. The Lancers have also defeated Howard. Longwood suffered loses this season to Duke, ETSU, George Mason, Towson, UNC Asheville and Campbell.
