ASHLAND, Va. -- Randolph-Macon College's Yellow Jackets hit 10-of-12 free throw attempts in the final 3:12 Tuesday to pull out a 66-61 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) victory over the Virginia Wesleyan College Marlins at R-MC's Crenshaw Gymnasium.

The ODAC's leading scorer Taylor Huber (Ashland/Patrick Henry) recordedd R-MC's last field goal of the game on a layup with 5:24 remaining to cut a Virginia Wesleyan lead to 57-52.  After a series of turnovers by both teams, the Jackets started their run to the win on a pair of freebies by Stephanie Staples.

VWC junior Kerri Taylor (Stockport, England/The Hill School, Pa.) hit a free throw to give VWC a 58-54 with 3:54 on the clock, but Katie Anderson scored on a layup to make it a 58-56 game. The Marlins still led 59-58 after sophomore Cassie Conley (New Market/Stonewall Jackson) hit a free throw a 2:28, but a little more than a minute later Hannah Livermon (Powhatan/Powhatan) hit two free throws to give R-MC a 60-59 edge with 1:25 on the clock.

It was the first lead since the 12:15 mark of the second half for the host team, which added to its lead from the charity strike in the final 60 seconds.

Virginia Wesleyan (13-7, 7-4), which competed without leading scorer Brittany Glasco (Fredericksburg/Massaponax) for the second consecutive game due to a concussion, started strong, bolting out to an 8-0 lead. The Marlins stayed in front until Huber, a Division I transfer from Utah Valley State University, hit a triple at the 10:53 mark of the first half to make it a 21-18 lead for R-MC. 

The Jackets (15-5, 8-3) pushed out to a nine-point lead before sophomore Kelly Jones (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) and Taylor guided a 12-0 VWC run as the Marlins took a 36-33 lead with 1:42 on the clock.

Randolph-Macon answered with a 9-2 scoring spurt in the final 1:42 to take a 42-38 lead at halftime.  Katie Anderson (Beaverdam/Patrick Henry) started the scoring in the second half to expand the R-MC lead to 44-38, but Virginia Wesleyan battled back with a 10-0 run, highlighted by triples by rookie Crystal Strother (Accokeek, Md./Brandywine Gwynn Park) and Taylor to open up a 48-44 lead with 15:20 to play.

After the teams tied at 48, Virginia Wesleyan surged again, producing a 9-0 run to take a 57-50 lead, capped by a layup by senior Katie Tassa (Bristow/Manassas Osbourn Park) with 7:12 on the clock.  The Marlins were unable to add to their lead however, and R-MC started its game-winning comeback on Huber's layup with 5:24 on the clock.

Virginia Wesleyan outscored Randolph-Macon 47-32 from the field, but the Jackets owned the foul lines, hitting 24-of-31 attempts, including 14-of-20 in the second half.  Huber led that effort, hitting 9-of-10 freebies en route to scoring a game-high 25 points. Anderson followed in scoring with 15 points, helped by a 5-of-10 effort from the field.

Nancy Kelly (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) and Taylor led Virginia Wesleyan with 11 points each, followed by rookie Alexis Platt (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) with 10.  VWC dominated on the backboards, outrebounding the Yellow Jackets 57-40.  Taylor led the Marlins with 10. Kelly and Platt added eight each.  Anderson recorded 10 rebounds for R-MC.

VWC's effort was aided by a game-high seven assists by Strother, but hampered by 31 turnovers. R-MC turned the ball over 21 times, but produced 19 steals, led by Marisha Berry (Powhatan/Powhatan) with nine. 

Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Saturday, Feb. 8, hosting Guilford College at 2 p.m. at the Jane P. Batten Student Center.

--AMDG--