SALEM, Va. – The #3 Emory & Henry College Women's Basketball Team (19-7) stamped its ticket to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals with a thrilling 88-87 win over sixth-seeded Bridgewater College (14-12) Thursday evening at the Salem Civic Center. Sophomore guard Chloe Harris (Bristol, Va.) hit the game-winning layup with 2.5 seconds remaining to give the Wasps the victory.
The game featured seven ties and eight lead changes with the biggest margin of 10 points coming from Emory & Henry with 27 seconds to go before the half. Bridgewater went up 14-7 early, but E&H pulled back to within one at the end of the opening period. The Wasps kept the advantage through the second 10 minutes of play, leading 47-40 at the intermission.
Coming out of the locker room, the Eagles flipped the script, tying things up at 55-all with 4:19 on the clock. Emory & Henry pushed its advantage back to nine via an 11-2 run but BC closed the gap back to one at the end of the third, 66-65.
The fourth period saw five ties and four lead changes, all of which came in the final 4:18. The Wasps and Eagles went punch-for-punch down the stretch with Bridgewater's Cassidy Burkholder hitting a layup with eight seconds to go for a 78-86 lead. Emory & Henry advanced the ball to the 28-foot line with a timeout and on the ensuing play, junior guard Megan Jacoby (Richmond, Va.) hit Harris on the right block with the pass which led to the game-winning bucket.
Jacoby led all scorers with 21 points, 14 of which came in the first half. She dished out five assists and came away with two rebounds and two steals playing the entire 40 minutes of the game. Freshman guard Taylor Blevins (Abingdon, Va.), who was named the ODAC Rookie of the Year on Wednesday evening, posted her 11th double-double of the year with 20 points and 10 boards, adding three assists, three steals and two blocks. Senior forward Tamara Brewster (Morrow, Ga.) had 11 points off the bench on four-for-six shooting while senior forward Karina Farr (Graham, Wash.) pitched in 10 points, five boards and three assists.
As a team, the Wasps shot 55.6 percent (35-for-63) from the field, and led 60-36 on points in the paint. The Wasps scored 18 points off 12 Eagle turnovers and held a 16-0 lead on fast-break points.
Bridgewater saw five players reach double figures in scoring with Burkholder leading the way with 19 points and six rebounds. Jessi Strom scored 15 points on five threes while Jessica Lam added 15 points of her own. Oshene Kelly posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Briana Moore chipped in 13 points off the bench. The Eagles shot 31-for-67 (46.3%) for the game and hit nine three-pointers. BC scored 15 second-chance points off of 11 offensive rebounds.
Emory & Henry will face second-seeded Guilford College in the ODAC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The Wasps defeated the Quakers by an 83-67 margin last week in Emory.
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-photo courtesy of Keith Lucas/Sideline Media