No. 23 Emory & Henry Women’s Basketball Escapes No. 18 Marymount, 58-56, Friday Evening On The Road

Taylor Blevins eyes a jump shot.
-photo courtesy of Sideline Media

ARLINGTON, Va. – The No. 23 Emory & Henry College Women's Basketball Team (1-0, 0-0 ODAC) got the season started with a thrilling 58-56 win over No. 18 Marymount University (0-1, 0-0 Atlantic East) Friday. Both the Wasps and the Saints reached the second round of the 2018 NCAA Division III Tournament.

Marymount is ranked No. 18 in the country by the WBCA and Emory & Henry is receiving votes. The two squads are also in the Top 25 of the D3hoops.com Poll, with the Saints sitting at 16 and the Wasps at 23.

The Basics
FINAL SCORE – No. 23 Emory & Henry 58, No. 18 Marymount 56
LOCATION – Arlington, Virginia
VENUE – Converse Family Fieldhouse
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (1-0, 0-0 ODAC); No. 18 Marymount (0-1, 0-0 Atlantic East)

How It Happened
- Marymount got out to a 9-5 lead midway through the first period before the Wasps scored back-to-back buckets to tie things up, 9-all. Gabriella Haddad scored five in a row for the Saints to push the margin to 14-9 through 10 minutes of action.
- E&H closed things down to a one-possession game for much of the second quarter. Down by five with 4:07 to go before the half, the Wasps went on a 9-2 run capped by a three-pointer from senior forward Taylor Blevins (Abingdon, Va.) for a 26-24 score at the break.
- The squads continued to trade baskets through the third period. Marymount cut the Emory & Henry advantage in half as the Wasps would lead 46-45 going into the final frame.
- E&H opened up its largest lead of the contest, 52-47 thanks to a 6-2 run to start the fourth. The Saints responded with the next seven points to make the score 54-52 with 4:39 to play, but the Wasps scored six of the last eight to earn the 58-56 win.

Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Blevins finished the night with a team-high 15 points and five rebounds while junior forward Sydney McKinney (Big Stone Gap, Va.) had 13 points and four assists.
- Junior guard Peyton Williams (Saltville, Va.) had 11 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists while sophomore guard Kylea Cooper (Hickory, N.C.) added eight points, four rebounds and two steals.
- Senior guard Jada Penn (Radford, Va.) scored five points off the bench.

Marymount Individual Leaders
- Katie McShea led all players with 17 points and added five rebounds while Tyffani McQueen put up 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
- Haddad finished the evening with 11 points and four boards while Regan Lohr notched eight points, five assists and three rebounds.

A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry shot 46.9 percent from the field and hit six three-pointers. The Wasps also converted all six of their free throw attempts.
- Marymount went 22-for-42 (52.4%) for the game with nine makes from the line, but only hit three triples.
- The Wasps led 21-19 on points off turnovers and used their nine offensive rebounds effectively to score 10 second-chance points.
- The contest featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes.

Up Next
- Emory & Henry will continue its seven-game road trip to open the season on Wednesday when it visits Maryville (Tenn.) College.
- Tipoff between the Wasps and Scots is set for 7:00 p.m.

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