FARMVILLE, Va. – For 60 minutes Saturday afternoon, Longwood grinded, overcame numerous momentum swings and gutted out a 16-15 rivalry win over Big South foe Radford at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field. But those two halves served only as the final chapter to a week's worth of preparation for the Lancers (4-8, 1-1 Big South), who punctuated their rivalry week gauntlet with one of their best performances of the season and their first Big South win of the year. In a game of runs that featured four lead changes, Longwood held off a late charge by the Highlanders (3-8, 2-1 Big South) and used back-to-back goals from Taylor Blenckstone and Kaitlin Luccarelli in the final six minutes to hand Radford its first Big South loss of the season. "The coaches prepared us above and beyond for this game," said Blenckstone, who matched a pair of career highs with five assists and seven points. "We all came in knowing we could win, and we pulled it out. Looch [Luccarelli] had I don't know how many goals in the first half, and that gave us a good lead. At the end of the game, we all came together. We were working together in the middle, and we pulled it out. It feels really good to win this one." Blenckstone and Luccarelli combined for seven goals and eight assists, spearheading a Longwood squad that scored on more than half of its shots, won the draw control battle 19-13 and never trailed after Luccarelli tied the game with 13 minutes remaining in the first half. Those two helped Longwood overcome a six-goal effort from Radford's leading scorer Juliette Ruland and a hat trick from Lindsey Carroll. The game featured four tied scores, including the 14-14 deadlock with 6:42 to play, but the Lancers went ahead for good on Luccarelli's seventh goal with 3:24 remaining and then survived Radford's final shot from Adrian Rius that hit off the crossbar with 10 seconds left. Luccarelli provided sparks throughout the win, including a string of five consecutive goals in the first half that turned a 6-4 Radford lead onto a 9-6 Longwood lead. The junior attacker scored the first four of those on her own with three free position shots and another unassisted strike, and then overcame Radford's defensive adjustments in the second half with her final strike that came on a pass from Blenckstone in the closing minutes. That goal proved to be the game-winner, as Longwood took control in the final six minutes to hold Radford to one goal the rest of the way. After the Highlanders tied the score at 14-14 on Emma Rogers' unassisted goal with 6:42 left, Longwood won thee of the final four draw controls and held Radford to just one shot the rest of the way. "This win meant a lot to our team," head coach Elaine Jones said. "We didn't play well last weekend, so we wanted to come out and show the type of team that we are. We prepared well. I was very pleased with this week, and everybody worked hard. It's Big South Conference time, and we wanted to show what we could do." The game was a display of momentum swings, as Longwood trailed 6-4 early, bounced back to lead by as many as four, and then succumbed to another Radford rally that tied the game twice in the second half. However, a multi-headed effort put the lead back in Longwood's hands multiple times, with Luccarelli, Jade O'Connor and Blenckstone all providing go-ahead goals. Longwood goalkeeper Danielle Burke also added eight saves, including five in the second half, and Corri Calandra led the defense with three ground balls and three caused turnovers. Junior Dana Joss also played a key role in the possession battle, winning a team-high eight draw controls, including her final pickup on the first draw after Radford tied the game at 14-14. Blenckstone made sure that possession counted, following with the last go-ahead strike on the ensuing Lancer possession. "We're resilient," Jones said. "I didn't need to take a timeout; we trusted that our team could work back through it, and they did. We've come out on the wrong side of enough of these games that today, we just decided that we weren't going to do it." Junior Lexi Davis and freshman Nicole Fordyce also added one goal and two assists apiece for Longwood, while junior captain Jordan Howard corralled six draw controls and a pair of ground balls and caused two turnovers. "I'm really proud, and I can't reiterate that enough," Jones said. "That goes for everybody. It was a total team effort, from everyone who played, and everyone who helps our starters prepare. Looch obviously had seven goals, and Jade and Taylor had big games, and Dani came up with some nice saves. Our defense did a solid job in causing turnovers. We're just proud." The win vaults Longwood into the top five of the Big South standings with four conference matchups left before the start of the 2019 Big South Championship tournament. This year's tournament format includes just the top four teams, and Longwood will continue its ascent into that quartet this Wednesday, April 10, at Big South rival Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, N.C. "We've worked so hard this spring, and to see it all come together is such a great feeling," Blenckstone said. "We still have four games to go, so it's not over yet, but coming off of this win and going into this week, I think we'll continue to come together as a team. Our chemistry is still improving, and we'll prepare just as hard so we can keep moving forward."