EMORY, Va. – The Virginia Wesleyan College Women's Basketball Team (8-11, 6-5 ODAC) rallied from a seven-point third-period deficit to steal a 76-74 win from Emory & Henry College (13-5, 7-3 ODAC) Saturday afternoon at the John Rutledge King Center.
The Marlins started out with a 13-2 lead 3:27 into the game but the Wasps closed things down with eight in a row to make the score 13-10 just 1:10 later. The two squads would trade baskets for a 24-20 VWC lead at the end of the first 10 minutes. In the second quarter, Emory & Henry went up by a 39-31 margin with 2:08 to go before the intermission. A three-pointer by freshman guard Tessa Johnston (High Point, N.C.) to close the first began a 15-2 run which would extend to 22-7 over a span of nine minutes. The Marlins closed the half with eight of the final 12 points for a 43-39 Wasp lead.
Early in the third frame, the two teams jostled for control before Emory & Henry put up a 10-0 run to lead 55-48 with 5:13 left on the clock. Virginia Wesleyan responded to regain the advantage, 62-57 at the end of the period with a 14-2 run over the final 4:41.
VWC slowly built a lead over the opening seven minutes of the final quarter, going up 64-73 for its largest advantage since the 6:23 mark of the opening act. Emory & Henry then made its case, scoring the next 10 points over a period of 1:43 to regain the lead, 74-73, with 43 ticks remaining. After the Marlins went back ahead on a pair of free throws, the Wasps had two opportunities in the final five seconds to win or force overtime, but their shots missed the mark. VWC escaped with the 76-74 victory.
Virginia Wesleyan had three players reach double figures in scoring, led by Jayla Harris' 21 to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Kelly Jones had 19 points with five threes and five boards while Naeemah Morris tacked on 10 points and seven rebounds. The Marlins shot 46.2 percent (30-for-65) from the floor and hit 10 three-pointers on the day, despite being outrebounded 42-34.
Emory & Henry junior guard Megan Jacoby (Richmond, Va.) posted a career high in scoring for the second time in two weeks with 23 points and added six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Freshman guard Taylor Blevins (Abingdon, Va.) collected a double-double with 23 points and 10 boards, scoring in double figures for the fifth time in six games. Senior guard Anna Green (Raleigh, N.C.) added 11 points for the Wasps.
As a team, E&H posted a 30-for-67 (44.8%) shooting performance and led 46-36 on points in the paint. The Wasps translated 17 offensive rebounds into an 18-13 lead on second-chance points and also managed to outscore the Marlins, 18-15, on points off turnovers.
Emory & Henry will look to start another winning streak on Wednesday when it travels to Roanoke, Virginia to take on Hollins University in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference tilt. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15