Late Rally Falls Short in Hyatt Place Tipoff Championship

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- The Virginia Wesleyan University women's basketball team rallied late in the fourth quarter, but fell by just three points in a 55-52 contest with Gettysburg College in the championship of the Hyatt Tipoff Tournament.

The Marlins held their largest lead of the first half at the 7:23 mark when NiAsia Caldwell made a layup to make the score 17-11. Gettysburg started to whittle away at the lead, going on a 12-0 run over the next six minutes to take a 23-17 advantage with 1:32 left to play until the half.

Gettysburg, holding a 25-21 lead at the half, went on an 8-2 run out of the break to go up 33-23 with four minutes to play in the quarter. Caldwell broke the run with a layup, but Gettysburg quickly answered on the shooting of Emily Gibbons to go up 40-26.

Jayla Harris swung the momentum just before the quarter ended with a jumper to close the gap to 12 points, 42-30.

Harris started the fourth quarter with a three-pointer. Following a pair of Bullet free throws, Sierra Coleman connected on a layup to cut the deficit back to single digits, 44-35.

The Marlin defense held the Bullets in check, keeping Gettysburg from connecting on its first field goal until a three-pointer at the 3:32 mark.

Trailing 47-41 midway through the fourth, Reagan Holmes connected on a three-pointer to cut the deficit in half. Amanda Gerni connected on another trifecta the next time up the court to even the score at 47. A Gerni layup at 3:43 put the Marlins in front 49-47.

Kiera Cesareo put Gettysburg back in front with a three-pointer at 3:32. An Emma Hahner layup with just over 100 seconds left to play put the Bullets up three.

Gerni erased that lead at 1:16 when she connected for a three-pointer off a Harris assist.

The two squads remained tied until the final 21 seconds when Ashley Gehrin drew a foul in the paint. Gehrin went to the charity stripe and converted on both attempts for a 54-52 lead. The Marlins had a final look in the waning seconds, but Gettysburg secured the rebound and closed out the game at the free throw line.

The Marlins outscored Gettysburg 22-13 in the fourth quarter.

Gibbons had 12 points and 16 rebounds for Gettysburg (2-0). She was named Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Gehrin finished with 10 points in the victory.

Harris finished with a team-high 16 points. She was named to the all-tournament team for her efforts. Gerni finished with 10 points off the bench.

Virginia Wesleyan (1-2) travels to Ferrum College (1-0) Tuesday for a 4 p.m. non-conference start.