DANVILLE, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Women's Basketball Team (16-6) built a 44-30 lead at the half and never looked back as it defeated Averett University (11-10) by an 83-71 score Thursday evening at the Grant Center. The final non-conference game of the year for the Wasps, Thursday's contest was postponed from its original date of Sunday, January 24 by Winter Storm Jonas.
The two teams went back and forth over the opening 10 minutes of play with the Cougars taking an 18-15 advantage. Emory & Henry sprang to action in the second period, outscoring Averett by a 29-12 margin by shooting 11-for-16 (68.8%) from the field to lead 44-30 at the intermission. A 15-2 run over the first 4:39 of the frame powered the Wasps to their advantage.
AU cut the deficit to 11 just 54 seconds into the third but eight points in a row by E&H resulted in the largest lead of the game, 54-35, with 6:33 on the clock. The Cougars chipped away at the lead, getting to within two points (73-71) with 1:55 left to play, but the Wasps ended the game on a 10-0 run for the 83-71 victory.
Four players reached double figures in scoring for Emory & Henry, led by senior guard Anna Green (Raleigh, N.C.), who put up a team-high 17 points on five-for-eight shooting. Senior forward Tamara Brewster (Morrow, Ga.) had 16 points and six boards while freshman guard Taylor Blevins (Abingdon, Va.) recorded another double-double with 14 point and 14 rebounds, tacking on three assists, three blocks and two steals. Junior guard Megan Jacoby (Richmond, Va.) had 13 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and four steals in the contest as well.
As a team, E&H shot 46.3 percent (31-for-67) from the floor, hitting seven three-pointers. The Wasps held a 51-27 advantage on the boards and dominated points in the paint, 44-26. Emory & Henry also led in points off turnovers, 25-18, despite committing 23 miscues in the game.
Averett's Ariana Covington led all scorers with 19 points and added three rebounds while Shannon Longworth pitched in 12 points, hitting four threes off the bench. Samm Chandler and Joelle Deese scored 11 points each with Chandler adding six rebounds and six assists. Oneka Jones contributed 10 points and seven rebounds as well.
The Cougars were 25-for-64 (39.1%) on their field goal attempts, converting nine shots from long range. AU made the most of its nine offensive rebounds, translating them to 16 points.
Emory & Henry will step back into Old Dominion Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., when it travels to face Shenandoah University.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15