Nyilah Jamison-Myers moves around a defender. Photo by Ben Coon
Backed by five double-digit scorers, the Charlotte women’s basketball team defeated the Longwood Lancers. The Niners (7-3) defense held Longwood (1-6) to under 50 points with a final score of 66-41.
Nyilah Jamison-Myers went 6-9 with field goals, tallying a career-high 13 points. The redshirt junior also recorded three blocked shots and a steal.
Joining Jamison-Myers in double digits was is sophomore Grace Hunter recording her second double-double of the season. The C-USA player of the week netted 12 points and 10 rebounds during the match-up. This is her ninth double-double of her career.
Coming off the bench to snag 10 points was junior Amaya Ransom. During her 10-point campaign, Ransom hit three three-pointers. To round it out for the Niners Lefty Webster and Laia Raventós both contributed 11 points. In her pursuit to double-digits, Raventós shot a perfect 3-for-3 behind the arc.
Freshman Lauren Harley recorded a career-high in the rebound category, totaling eight boards in the contest. Ciara Gregory’s one 3-pointer of the night put her at 157 career 3-pointers, tying for third place on Charlotte’s all-time list.
The Charlotte offense started strong, with Jamison-Myers hitting back-to-back shots coupled with a Hunter 3-pointer to, giving the 49ers a 7-2 lead. Charlotte would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game. Longwood competed throughout the first quarter, evening the score at 9. Charlotte stepped up however and closed the first frame with an 8-0 run, giving Charlotte the 20-11 advantage headed to the second quarter.
The story of the second quarter was the 49er defense. Longwood was 3-of-16 with field goals throughout the quarter, only putting six points on the board. That is the lowest Charlotte has held an opponent to since the NCAA switched to quarters last season. As the defensive stand continued, Charlotte’s offense kept going strong, at one point going on a 10-0 run. Heading to the half, Charlotte held a 38-17 lead over Longwood. The 17 points is the least amount of points Charlotte has given up since the switch to quarters.
Not letting their foot off the gas just yet, Charlotte held a 23-point lead over Longwood, 43-20 at the 7:49 mark of the third quarter. As the Lancers tried to fight back, the 49ers just responded with more buckets. The third frame ended with a 25 point lead for the 49ers, 54-29.
Grace Hunter drives to the basket. Photo by Ben Coon
Longwood stayed in competitive, sinking back-to-back three pointers to open the final quarter. Raventós came back with a jumper, sparking an 8-2 run for the Charlotte team. After a free throw from Jamison-Myers, the 49ers seized their largest lead of the night of 26 points, 65-39.
Head coach Cara Consuegra has seen improvement from the beginning of the season to now and can only see the team getting better.
“We’re playing much better basketball now than we were when we started the year. Every day we’re getting better on the court, both offensively and defensively, and I think in particular we’ve grown offensively,” Consuegra said. “There’s always room for improvement and the Davidson game we need to be much better. It’s always difficult because of the rivalry but I like our momentum at the moment.”
Charlotte has 10 days to prep for their exams and for their final non-conference game of the season. The 49ers take on Davidson Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. in Halton Arena.