Marlin Seniors Post Strong Effort in Loss to Lynchburg

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Wesleyan College women's basketball team celebrated Senior Night on Saturday with Kelly Jones, Cassie Conley, and Taylor Wong recognized in pregame festivities. Jones and Conley followed it up with memorable performances despite Lynchburg capturing a 70-55 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) victory.

The Marlins won the opening tip-off and Jones dished the ball down low to Conley who scored the first points of the game.

Lynchburg answered with an 8-0 run as Chaney Forbush scored four points with Caroline Naumann and Olivia DeFrancesco contributed a basket each.

The Marlins attempted to climb back into the contest, but Lynchburg would carry a 16-9 lead into the second period.

The two teams continued to go back and forth for the first five minutes of the second quarter with the Hornets maintaining the lead, extending it to as much as 10 points with a 27-17 edge with 4:16 to play until the half.

Virginia Wesleyan closed on a 16-6 run to tie up the contest heading into the break. Jayla Harris started the run with back-to-back three-pointers, then driving the line for a layup to cut the lead to 29-25 with 2:11 to play.

Following a pair of Forbush free throws and a Naeemah Morris basket, Harris took over again. The rookie knocked down a basket from in low, then found Jones for a three on the next possession to cut the gap to 33-32 with 31 seconds to go until the break. Following a big defensive stop for the Marlins, Harris attempted a shot as time expired but was fouled on the attempt, allowing for VWC to tie up the game at halftime.

Lynchburg came out of the halftime break on a 12-2 run that spanned 4:42 to take a commanding 45-35 edge. Forbush had eight points in the spurt, pulling down five rebounds and blocking a shot in the process.

The Marlins tried to make one more run, cutting the lead to seven, 46-39 on a Harris layup, but the Marlins would get no closer than that as the size of Lynchburg took control of the paint.

Forbush led Lynchburg (19-4/12-2) with 27 points and 12 rebounds while Charmaine Hairston finished with 16 points off the bench. Naumann tallied eight points and 12 rebounds as Sammi Goldsmith contributed six points, five assists, and nine rebounds. Lynchburg outrebounded the Marlins 52-30, capitalizing on 21 offensive rebounds for 20 second-chance points.

Harris led the Marlins with 25 points as Jones finished with 13 points while leading the team with seven rebounds and three steals. Raya Berkley tallied seven points and four rebounds off the bench.

Virginia Wesleyan (8-14/6-8) travels to Bridgewater College (12-11/7-7) Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. ODAC start that could have a lot of weight in the final ODAC standings.

There is one week left in the ODAC regular season. The top four seeds receive a first-round bye to the quarterfinals, while seeds 5-8 will host seeds 9-12 in a first round game. Below are the current standings with conference records and the games left for each team.

T1. Guilford (12-2)   -   2 left (at Emory & Henry, vs. Virginia Wesleyan)
T1. Lynchburg (12-2)   -   2 left (at Randolph, vs. Hollins)
3. Emory & Henry (10-4)   -   2 left (vs. Guilford, at Randolph-Macon)
T4. Eastern Mennonite (9-5)   -   2 left (vs. Randolph-Macon, at Washington and Lee)
T4. Washington and Lee (9-5)   -   2 left (at Shenandoah, vs. Eastern Mennonite)
T6. Randolph-Macon (7-7)   -   2 left (at Eastern Mennonite, vs. Emory & Henry)
T6. Roanoke (7-7)   -   2 left (at Hollins, at Bridgewater)
T6. Bridgewater (7-7)   -   2 left (vs. Virginia Wesleyan, vs. Roanoke)
9. Virginia Wesleyan (6-8)   -   2 left (at Bridgewater, at Guilford)
10. Shenandoah (3-11)   -   2 left (vs. Washington and Lee, vs. Eastern Mennonite)
11. Randolph (2-12)   -   2 left (vs. Lynchburg, vs. Shenandoah)
12. Hollins (0-14)   -   2 left (vs. Roanoke, at Lynchburg)