Farmville, VA - The Regent University Women's Basketball team embraced the Athletic Departments motto of moving the needle as they traveled a few hours west to face NCAA Division I member Longwood University. It was a big opportunity for the Royals to be showcased on ESPN + and a chance for them to show the nation that they are a program on the rise.
Junior Courtney Rowley (Lusk, WY) started the first quarter with a three-point basket to give Regent the early lead and after a Lancers basket, Senior Kaila Murrell (Long Beach, CA) answered with a three-pointer of her own. Her sister Senior Kali Murrell (Long Beach CA) would make another Royals three-pointer, but Longwood was able to eventually grab the lead, 11-9. Kali Murrell drained another three-pointer and that was able to keep Regent in the game. However, as the quarter ended the Royals trailed 24-12.
The Lancers came out in the second quarter and established themselves on the offensive side of the court. Junior Nevaeh Ivory (Charlottesville, VA) scored for Regent with a driving layup, but Longwood had an answer and jumped out to their largest advantage of the game, 40-17. The Royals would try to press on offense but as the teams headed to the locker rooms, they were behind 64-23.
The third quarter saw Junior Layla Turner (Portsmouth, VA) hit a floating jumper but Longwood, once again, had an answer. They would continue to score and suddenly Regent was down 69-35. Turner would take advantage of free throw attempts, but the Royals could not pull any closer and as the quarter ended the score would be 71-37.
Regent tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, but the Lancers were able to counter it and keep their lead. Kaila Murrell hit another three-pointer and Junior Jabarria Brown (Paterson, NJ) cashed in from the free throw line, but as the final buzzer sounded the Royals would fall by a final score of 103-52.
Kali Murrell led Regent with 12 points, all from the three-point line, while Ivory, Kaila Murrell and Brown each finished with 9 points apiece. In addition, Brown went 7-8 from the free throw line and Turner had a team high 3 assists. The Royals will be back in action on February 2nd as they host Trinity Washington University. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00pm.
