VIRGINIA BEACH -- It was only appropriate that on Senior Night the lone Virginia Wesleyan College senior Rachael Miller (Sterling/Park View) would score the Marlins' first five points and assist on the sixth and seventh to help propel the host team to a decisive 77-31 victory over the Wasps of Emory & Henry College on Saturday at the Jane P. Batten Student Center.

The victory improved VWC's overall record to 17-8 and its Old Dominion Athletic Conference mark to 12-4 and secured the third seed for the Marlins in the championship tournament.  The Marlins will begin their play in the tournament on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 8 p.m. in the Civic Center in Salem, Virginia, against the winner of first-round game between 11th seeded Hollins University and sixth seeded Shenandoah University.  That game will be played Monday, Feb. 18, at Shenandoah.

For now, the Marlins will celebrate their regular-season ending win, which included 13 players recording time on the court and 11 of them scoring points.  Virginia Wesleyan bolted out to a 17-2 lead in the first eight minutes of the game, led 29-6 with five minutes remaining in the half, and posted its largest lead of the half at 32-6.  The Marlins led 35-12 at the break.

Emory & Henry's Wasps (7-17, 4-12) had consistent problems with Virginia Wesleyan's defense and finished the game with 32 turnovers.  VWC finished with 17 steals, led by junior Symonne Newsome (Reistertown, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) with four. 

Virginia Wesleyan out-scored E&H 19-9 in the first 10 minutes of the second half to open up a 54-19 lead. The Marlins' offense was consistent from the start and recorded its largest lead at 73-25 after a layup by rookie Kelly Jones (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) with 3:51 remaining in the game.

The game featured the top two three-point shooting teams in the ODAC, with Emory & Henry in the top spot, but the Wasps could not find the net against VWC.  Emory & Henry attempted 10 triples and made only one by Tenesha Connor (Greensboro, N.C./Greensboro Day School).  Virginia Wesleyan put up 25 treys and nailed nine, led by sophomore Sarah Seipp (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) with three, sophomore Kerri-Leanne Taylor (Stockport, England/The Hill School, Pa.) with two, and Miller with two.

Seipp led all scoring with 16 points, hitting 6-of-10 field goal attempts, and 3-of-5 triples.  Sophomore Nancy Kelly (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney)hit 6-of-9 shots and tallied 13 points and Miller finished with 10 points.  The Marlins recorded 21 assists, led by sophomore Brittany Glasco (Fredericksburg/Massaponax) with five. Sophomore Andrea Paphites (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) helped the Marlins with three blocks.

Kristie Langley (Staley, N.C./Providence Grove) led Emory & Henry with eight points and Connor finished with seven. Michelle Williams (Staley, N.C./Providence Grove) led the Wasps with six rebounds, while VWC was led by Katie Tassa (Bristow/Manassas Osbourn Park) and Glasco with six each.  The Marlins edged the Wasps on the boards, 39-38.

--AMDG--