Farmville, Va. – Winthrop opened Big South competition by hanging on to win at Longwood at Longwood by a final score of 58-53 on Wednesday night.
 
Winthrop (7-7, 1-0 Big South) | Longwood (2-11, 0-1 Big South)
Jan. 3, 2024 | Joan Perry Brock Center
Winthrop 58, Longwood 53
 
How it Happened
 
First Quarter | Winthrop immediately jumped out to a 7-0 lead two minutes in, forcing a Longwood timeout. Jada Ryce accounted for five of the early seven Eagle points. Longwood responded with an 11-3 run to take the lead at 11-10. Elli Garnett briefly gave the lead back to the Eagles on a layup with 4:42 left only for the Lancers to score on an old-fashioned three-point play to put them back out in front. Garnett then tied it at 14 on two free throws nearly a minute later. After Longwood went ahead on a jumper a few plays later, Winthrop ended the quarter by scoring the last seven points, with half of those points coming from Leonor Paisana. Her deep bomb just before the buzzer put Winthrop ahead 21-16 going to the second quarter.
 
Second Quarter | The Eagles began the second quarter holding Longwood scoreless for nearly half the period and scoring the first six points, going up 27-16 after a layup by Tiana Spann at the 6:34 mark. The Lancers answered with a 9-0 run while holding Winthrop scoreless for the rest of the frame, leaving Winthrop up 27-25 entering intermission.
 
Third Quarter | Longwood's lone free throw represented the only point scored by either team in the first three minutes. A few plays later saw the Lancers reclaim the lead on a layup at the 6:33 mark as they held Winthrop scoreless for the first four minutes of the quarter. Marissa Gasaway's free throws at the 5:55 mark ended Winthrop's scoreless drought of 11 minutes. After Longwood scored on a jumper to put them back in front, Gasaway did the same on the next Eagle possession to start a 9-0 run, putting Winthrop up 38-30 with 2:36 left, and forcing another Lancer timeout. Longwood ended the Winthrop rally with a triple with nearly a minute left and the score remained the same inside of the final minute, leaving Winthrop ahead 38-33 at the end of the third quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter | Garnett's free throws put Winthrop up seven seconds into the fourth quarter. Longwood scored five quick points but Ryce's jumper at the 7:50 mark gave the Eagles a 42-38 lead. The Lancers hit three free throws to make it a one-point game but Garnett hit a big three-pointer to restore the lead back to four on the next play. After a free throw by Longwood, Garnett hit two of her own nearly two minutes later. It was then up to the Eagle defense to hang on for the final five minutes, which they did. Longwood got four quick points to make it a one-point contest again with nearly two minutes to go but consecutive baskets by Gasaway and Ryce put Winthrop up 51-46 with 1:29 left. Longwood would cut it two twice inside of the final minute but in that same period the Eagles put the Lancers away for good with seven free throws.
 
Statistical Standouts (Team)

• Winthrop moves to 605-898 all-time as a program.
• Winthrop moves to 204-367 in Big South regular-season games.
• Leonor Paisana is now seven three-pointers away from moving into the Top 10 in school history in career triples.
• Winthrop has made more than 30% of their free throws in every single contest up to this point in the season.
• Garnett scored her first career points and registered her first game as an Eagle scoring in double figures.
• This was Gasaway's seventh game this season in double figures in rebounds.
• This was Ryce's seventh game this season in double figures in points.
• Winthrop outscored Longwood 19-4 in second chance points and 18-12 in second chance points.
• There were a combined 16 lead changes and six ties.
• Winthrop won their first game in their first try at Longwood's new arena.
• This was the first Big South game (men's or women's) at the Joan Perry Brock Center.
• Four Eagles played more than 30 minutes.
• Winthrop shot 53% from the field in the first quarter.
• Winthrop made 91% of their free throws in the fourth quarter.

Statistical Standouts (Individual)
Jada Ryce (35 min, 6-12 FG, 7-9 FT, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 21 pts)
Elli Garnett (20 min, 2 rebounds, 11 pts)
 
Up Next
Winthrop returns to the Winthrop Coliseum for the Big South home opener vs. USC Upstate on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
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