ROANOKE, VA. -- Harassing defense continued to pay dividends for the
Virginia Wesleyan College women's basketball team as the Marlins "D"
helped force 23 turnovers that were part of a 57-53 Old Dominion
Athletic Conference (ODAC) road win over Hollins University.

Virginia Wesleyan improved to 7-5 overall and to 3-1 in the ODAC where
the Marlins held onto a share of first place in the league standings.
Hollins dropped to 2-8 overall and to 0-4 in the league.

The Marlins built a 10 point lead midway through the first half and
maintained it thereafter. VWC led by 14 points late in the half before
Hollins hit a triple to close the halftime gap to 28-17.

Hollins came out strong in the second half and pulled within three
points, but Virginia Wesleyan stayed poised and eventually pushed back
out to a double-digit lead.  Hollins once again found the baskets to
cut the spread to three points late in the game, but Virginia Wesleyan
managed its lead by hitting free throws when they counted the most.

VWC finished the game hitting 17-of-24 free throws overall, led by
sophomore Sarah Seipp (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) with a 6-of-6
effort.  Sophomore Brittany Glasco (Fredericksburg/Massaponax) hit
5-of-8 and sophomore Nancy Kelly (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) added 4-of-8.
Hollins hit 10-of-17 freebies overall.

Glasco emerged as the leading scorer for the Marlins, putting in 17
points.  Seipp followed with 16 points and Kelly added 10 points.
Glasco also led VWC in rebounding with six. Sophomore Andrea Paphites
(Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) and Glasco both recorded three steals
for the Marlins.

Jasmine Greene (Hampton/Tabb) and Lacie Forrest (Richmond/Meadowbrook)
led Hollins with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Chanci Wright (Eden,
Texas/Eden) produced a game-high 11 rebounds.

Virginia Wesleyan competes again on Wednesday, Jan. 9, at Bridgewater
College in ODAC play beginning at 7 p.m.

--AMDG--