VIRGINIA BEACH -- This was the kind of senior-led effort Virginia Wesleyan College head women's basketball coach Stephany Dunmyer was waiting to see.

She didn't see it in the Marlins' first three games, but it unfolded impressively in game four against a vastly improved Washington and Lee University team that entered Tuesday's game at the Jane P. Batten Student Center undefeated in its first four games.

Senior Brittany Glasco (Fredericksburg/Massaponax) finished the first half strong to help VWC into a 32-31 lead at halftime and seniors Nancy Kelly (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) and Andrea Paphites (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) started the second half with a scoring burst that helped put the Marlins on track to a 73-63 victory.

Washington and Lee's Generals (4-1) trailed most of the first half of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference opener for both teams, as many as eight points at one stretch, but used timely triples from Emily Perszky (Greendale, Wis./Greendale) and Annie Gauf (Vienna/James Madison) to pull within a point late in the half.

Shelbi Henricks (Louisville, Ky./Kentucky Country Day), Wesleigh Vick (Raleigh, N.C./St. David's School), and Paige Corvino (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Fenwick) outscored VWC 6-2 to put the Generals in front at 31-28, but not for long.  Glasco took  over in the final 44 seconds of the half to score twice to push Virginia Wesleyan (2-2) into the 32-31 lead at the break.

A Gauf triple returned the lead to the Generals at 34-32 to start the second half, before Kelly and Paphites came on strong for the Marlins.  Kelly scored six straight points, all in the paint, and Paphites added five more, including a big triple, as VWC fired up on a 11-2 scoring run that opened up a 45-36 lead with 15:00 remaining to be played.

Perszyk nailed a triple to cut the deficit to four for W&L, butKelly Jones (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) scored four straight points to spark a 12-4 scoring surge, capped by a triple from senior Kerri Taylor (Stockport, England/The Hill School, Pa.), that gave Virginia Wesleyan a 59-47 lead with 9:44 on the clock.

Washington and Lee, which entered the game off a stunning win at the University of Mary Washington by firing up late three pointers, launched the long-rangers down the stretch at VWC as well, but never got closer than seven points in the final nine minutes.

Paphites emerged as the game's leading scoring with 20 points, helped by an 11-of-12 showing from the free throw lines.  The quicker Marlins drove inside for shots or to snare rebounds, and picked up W&L fouls that put VWC on the free throw lines 25 times. Virginia Wesleyan hit 19 attempts., with Paphites leading that effort.

Virginia Wesleyan also won the battle on the backboards, 40-36, led by Taylor and Glasco with a game-high seven rebounds each.

Paphites was one of three Marlins to score in double figures, as Glasco hit 7-of-9 shots en route to 16 points and Kelly nailed 5-of-6 attempts and tallied 13 points.  VWC connected for 58.3% from the field in the second half and finished with a 50% shooting mark for the game.

Corvino led Washington and Lee with 14 points, hitting 5-of-9 shots, and Gauf and Perszyk scored 10 points each. Hendricks led the Generals on the boards with six rebounds and Jackie Clifford (Tenafly, N.J./Tenafly) finished with a game-high seven assists and four steals.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition in non-league action on Sunday, Nov. 30, playing at Stevenson University in Owings Mill, Md., at 2 p.m.

--AMDG--