VIRGINIA BEACH -- A three-pointer by senior Rachael Miller (Sterling/Park View) gave Virginia Wesleyan College an early lead that the Marlins never surrendered Wednesday en route to an impressive 82-60 victory over Randolph-Macon College's Yellow Jackets at the Jane P. Batten Student Center.

The Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory improved VWC's  league record to 7-4, keeping the Marlins in the hunt for one of the top four berths heading into the league's championship tournament.  VWC is currently tied with Lynchburg College, while Guilford College and Eastern Mennonite University lead the league at 10-1.

Virginia Wesleyan (12-8) led 26-18 with 9:00 remaining to be played in the first half when the Marlins started to pull away for good.  VWC outscored R-MC (5-15, 4-7) 21-7 in the next seven minutes, opening up a 47-25 lead. Seven Marlins scored in the surge, which included timely triples from sophomoresBrittany Glasco (Fredericksburg/Massaponax) and Andrea Paphites (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) and rookie Kelly Jones (Ellicott City, Md./Mt Hebron).

Jones also nailed a triple with 14 seconds remaining in the half to give VWC a 50-28 lead at the break.  The Marlins connected on eight triples in the first half.

Sophomore Nancy Kelly (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) and Paphites produced VWC's first eight points of the second half and the Marlins never let up.  The lead grew to a 63-37 when junior Symonne Newsome (Reistertown, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) scored on a layup with 14:57 on the clock.

Randolph-Macon never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way.

Paphites enjoyed her most productive game as a Marlin with a double-double.  She led the team in scoring with 17 points, hitting 7-of-15 from the field and three triples, and led the game with 10 rebounds and six assists.  Kelly finished with 13 points.

Virginia Wesleyan outrebounded Randolph-Macon 52-46, helped by eight boards by rookie Cassie Conley (New Market/Stonewall Jackson) and seven by sophomore Kerri-Leanne Taylor (Stockport, England/The Hill School, Pa.). 

Sarah Parsons (Glen Allen/J.R. Tucker) led the Jackets with 26 points, hitting 9-of-15 field goal attempts, including two triples. She was the only R-MC player in double-figure scoring.  Rookie Khajae Hester (Virginia Beach/Cape Henry Collegiate) was next highest with six points.

Virginia Wesleyan competes again on Saturday, Feb. 2, in an ODAC game in Lexington against the host Generals of Washington and Lee University beginning at 4 p.m.

--AMDG--