SALEM, Va. – The #1 Emory & Henry College Women's Basketball Team (22-6) rallied from six points down in the final three minutes to knot the game, 68-68, but second-seeded Randolph-Macon College (22-5) scored four unanswered to claim a 72-68 win in the 2018 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game.
It was the first appearance in the ODAC title game for the Wasps since 2001 and the sixth in program history. The loss snaps an 11-game winning streak for E&H, its longest since reeling off 14 in a row in the 2001-02 season. The Wasps' sit at a program-record tying 22 wins on the year, also achieved during the 2001-02 campaign.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – #2 Randolph-Macon 72, #1 Emory & Henry 68
LOCATION – Salem, Virginia
VENUE – Salem Civic Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (22-6, 13-3 ODAC); Randolph-Macon (22-5, 12-4 ODAC)
How It Happened
- Randolph-Macon opened the game with a 6-2 lead and pushed its advantage to 23-11 with 2:12 on the clock. The Wasps responded with a 9-2 run to close the period, cutting the margin to 25-20.
- E&H extended its run to 17-4 with eight of the first 10 points of the second quarter, going up 28-27 for its first lead. The squads battled through six lead changes in the second frame alone with the Yellow Jackets taking a 39-38 margin into the locker room.
- Returning to action in the third, Randolph-Macon regained the lead, 43-40, but an 8-1 run by Emory & Henry gave the Wasps a 48-44 advantage. Three ties and seven lead changes in the third kept things close with E&H taking a 58-57 lead in to the final period of play.
- RMC used a 9-2 run to start the fourth period, building a six-point 68-62 advantage with 2:56 to go. The Wasps tied things up at 68 but the Yellow Jackets went back ahead with 24 seconds left to play.
- Emory & Henry had three looks at the basket in the final 15 seconds but was unable to get a shot to fall as Randolph-Macon captured the league crown, 72-68.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Junior forward Taylor Blevins (Abingdon, Va.) put up a team-high 17 points and added nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block while junior guard Chloe Harris (Bristol, Va.) had 14 points, six boards, three assists and five steals.
- Sophomore forward Peyton Williams (Saltville, Va.) put up 11 points, five rebounds and three steals while sophomore forwards Kara Stafford (Bristol, Tenn.) and Sydney McKinney (Big Stone Gap, Va.) had eight points each.
Randolph-Macon Individual Leaders
- Kelly Williams led all players with 31 points and achieved her 26th double-double of the season with 20 rebounds. She now holds the ODAC Tournament rebounding record with 63 boards in three games this year.
- Jayla Wade put up 13 points while Teal Reynolds had nine points, five rebounds and four steals.
- Charlotte Woods scored eight points and pulled down 13 rebounds while Elise Knobloch added eight points of her own.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry struggled from the field for a second day in a row, hitting just 29-of-79 (36.7%) of its shots and made only one three-point basket. The Wasps made up some ground at the free throw line, however, firing at 90 percent (9-for-10).
- Randolph-Macon shot 40.3 percent (25-for-62) from the floor but got 19 points at the charity stripe (73.1%), 11 of which came from Williams.
- RMC held a 50-40 rebounding advantage and led 22-14 on second-chance points.
- Emory & Henry posted a 48-38 margin on points in the paint and took advantage of 26 Yellow Jacket errors for a 24-16 lead on points off turnovers.
All-Tournament
- Blevins and Williams were Emory & Henry's selections to the All-ODAC Tournament Team.
- Williams was the Most Outstanding Player and was joined by Woods and Reynolds.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry, which is the No. 2-ranked team in the NCAA Division III South Region, will await the announcement of the 64-team NCAA Tournament field on Monday.
- The NCAA selection show will be streamed live on NCAA.com at 2:30 p.m.
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