EMORY, Va. – The seventh-seeded Emory & Henry College Women's Basketball Team (14-12) jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the first half and never looked back as it defeated #10 Randolph College (13-13) by a 66-49 score Tuesday evening in the First Round of the 2015 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament. With the win the Wasps advance to the ODAC Tournament Quarterfinals for the first time since 2008.
E&H earned its first win in the conference tournament since 2005 when it defeated fourth-seeded Eastern Mennonite University in the quarterfinals, 57-48. It was also the first time since the 1993 tournament that the Wasps have hosted a postseason contest.
Emory & Henry started the contest off strong, going up by 12 points in the first 4:44. Junior forward Tamara Brewster (Morrow, Ga.) had 18 of the Wasps' 36 first-half points as they held off a 6-0 run by the WildCats late in the frame to take a 36-28 lead into the locker room.
After the break, E&H kept the pressure on, starting the half off on a 21-4 run to go up by a 57-32 score with 12:07 left to play. Sophomore guard Megan Jacoby (Richmond, Va.) had nine of her 11 points during the span. Randolph trimmed the margin to 17 points (64-47) with just over three minutes left but would get no closer as two more points for each team equaled the final margin of the contest, 66-49, in favor of the Wasps.
Brewster led all scorers with 23 points and added a game-high 12 rebounds to complete the double-double for Emory & Henry. Senior guard Kristie Langley (Staley, N.C.) had 12 points and nine rebounds while Jacoby finished the game with 11 points, six assists, four steals, two blocks and two rebounds. Freshman guard Chloe Harris (Bristol, Va.) notched 11 points, five rebounds and two assists for the Wasps.
As a team, E&H shot 38.1 percent (24-for-63) for the contest and hit 14-of-20 (70%) of its free throws. The Wasps held a 21-12 advantage on points off turnovers and also led, 34-30, on points in the paint. Emory & Henry won the battle of the boards as well, 48-39, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds which translated into nine points.
Randolph was paced by Taylor Samuels' 15 points on seven-for-13 shooting while Allie Druffel had 10 points and 10 rebounds on the evening. Jacqueline Hockman chipped in eight points for the WildCats who shot 21-for-61 (34.4%) from the floor and hit just 41.7% (5-of-12) of their free throws.
Emory & Henry advances to take on the #2 seed in the tournament, Randolph-Macon College, on Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. at the Salem Civic Center. The contest will be the third of four quarterfinal games in the ODAC Women's Basketball Tournament to be played on Friday, with action beginning at 1:00 p.m.
---E&H---
-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15