EMORY, Va. – The Lynchburg College Women's Basketball Team (18-4, 11-2 ODAC) jumped out to a 15-point halftime lead and held off a third quarter rally by Emory & Henry College (15-6, 9-4 ODAC) for a 76-62 victory in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action, Tuesday evening at the John Rutledge King Center. It was also E&H's annual Play4Kay game, raising awareness for cancer research and accepting donations for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
The Hornets got out to a 10-4 lead at the 6:34 mark of the first period, but a 12-1 run by the Wasps gave them a 16-11 advantage 4:30 later. LC finished the quarter by scoring the final six points to lead 17-16 after 10 minutes of play. The second frame was all Lynchburg as it outscored Emory & Henry by a 26-12 margin. A layup with six seconds to go before the half pushed the advantage to 18 (43-25), but E&H junior guard Megan Jacoby (Richmond, Va.) sunk a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to make the score 43-28 at the intermission.
The third quarter saw Emory & Henry claw its way back into the game, using an 11-1 run over 2:18 to trim the margin to 50-45 with 2:08 on the clock. Three layups by the Hornets to close the period extended the lead back to double digits, 56-45. The two squads traded baskets for much of the final 10 minutes of play with E&H unable to get any closer than 10 points in the final six minutes. A six-for-eight performance at the line in the final minute by Lynchburg sealed the deal for the 76-62 win.
LC's Sarah Coronel led the way with a game-high 25 points, 16 of which came in the first half. Coronel went 11-for-14 from the field, adding nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Caroline Naumann had 18 points and four boards while Olivia Defrancesco and Chaney Forbush chipped in 10 and nine points, respectively. Forubush registered seven rebounds and four steals as well.
As a team, the Hornets shot 44.3 percent (27-for-61) from the field, leading 40-34 on points in the paint. Lynchburg also held a 42-33 rebounding advantage and led 15-10 on points off turnovers.
Jacoby scored 16 points, pacing the Wasps while senior forward Karina Farr (Graham, Wash.) had 14 points. Freshman guard Taylor Blevins (Abingdon, Va.) notched seven points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks while senior forward Tamara Brewster (Morrow, Ga.) tallied six points and five rebounds.
Emory & Henry shot just 24-for-63 (38.1%) for the game, but converted on 10-of-11 (90.9%) of its free throws. The Wasps managed 11 points off of 10 offensive rebounds in the game as well.
E&H will step out of conference play on Thursday as it travels to Averett University at 7:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15