EMORY, Va. – The Averett University Women's Basketball Team (4-5) made a strong second-half rally behind 22 second-chance points to defeat Emory & Henry College (6-6) by a 72-70 score Tuesday evening at the John Rutledge King Center. The loss snaps a four-game winning streak for the Wasps, their longest since early in the 2012-13 season.
E&H got out to 6-0 lead at the 17:17 mark of the first half, forcing an early AU timeout. The Cougars cut the lead to 16-15 on a three-pointer by Jessica Myers but the Wasps responded with six straight to push the margin to seven (22-15) with 8:14 to go before the break. The two teams traded baskets back and forth for the rest of the opening 20 minutes with Emory & Henry taking a 30-27 lead into the locker room.
The Wasps scored six of the first eight points of the second half to equal their largest lead of the game at 36-29. Eight straight points by Averett gave the Cougars their first lead of the contest 37-36 with 15:05 on the clock but Emory & Henry pushed back to go up 48-42 three minutes later. The final 10 minutes of the game turned out to be a tug of war, featuring six ties and three lead changes.
Down by one with 4:21 on the clock, Averett went on a 12-4 run to lead by seven with 1:19 left in the game. Emory & Henry put seven straight points on the board to tie the contest at 70-all on a three-pointer by senior guard Kristie Langley (Staley, N.C.) with 15 seconds remaining.
The Cougars came down the court and took a two-point advantage with eight second to go on a jumper by Jonna Koski. E&H had one last chance to send the game into overtime but could not convert as Averett escaped with a 72-70 win.
Koski led all players with 22 points as she went 9-for-11 from the field, and added nine rebounds for the Cougars. Jessica Myers tallied 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals while Samm Chandler had 10 points and eight boards. Averett shot 25-for-66 (37.9%) for the game and hit 77.8 percent (14-of-18) of its free throws in the second half alone. AU also had 40 points in the paint and outrebounded E&H by a 53-45 margin.
Emory & Henry placed three players in double figures in scoring led by junior forward Karina Farr (Graham, Wash.), who notched 20 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Chloe Harris (Bristol, Va.) tied her season high of 17 points, hitting a trio of three-pointers, and added seven rebounds while Langley notched 16 points and nine boards to go along with four assists. Sophomore guard Megan Jacoby (Richmond, Va.) kept up her nationally-ranked effort with eight assists and four steals to go along with five points.
As a team, the Wasps responded from shooting 27.8 percent (10-for-36) in the first half to go 16-for-38 (42.1%) in the closing 20 minutes. E&H hit six three-pointers in the contests and won the points off turnover battle, 16-13, forcing 18 Averett miscues.
Emory & Henry will return to Old Dominion Athletic Conference action on Friday when it travels to Lexington, Virginia to face off against Washington and Lee University. Tipoff between the Wasps and Generals is set for 5:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15