Marlins Hold Off Builders Late in 76-74 Win

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The Virginia Wesleyan University women's basketball team held off a late rally by The Apprentice School to capture a 76-74 non-conference victory on Saturday.

Apprentice did not take long to assume its largest lead of the game, jumping out to a 9-0 advantage. The Marlins began to chip away with the Builders leading 15-13 with 3:02 left in the first. A layup by Mak McSweeney tied the game before an Amanda Gerni three-pointer put the Marlins in front for the first time. VWU would lead the remainder of the way.

The Marlins worked on extending the lead after the Gerni three-pointer, taking their largest lead of the game with 1:39 left in the half on a Jayla Harris jumper.

Apprentice started the second half on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to seven points, 41-34, but the Marlin defense locked down the Builders by allowing just one free throw over the next three minutes.

The Marlins, leading by seven, received a pair of Harris free throws to go up by nine. Sierra Coleman then connected on a layup to make it 45-34. A Jada Lewis layup capped off the run as VWU went up 47-35 with 6:29 to go in the quarter.

Virginia Wesleyan continued to maintain its large advantage, holding a 64-50 lead as the fourth quarter started. Apprentice made a late run at the Marlins, outscoring the hosts 24-12 in the final period.

Quanisha Bruce had a big fourth for Apprentice, scoring seven points to go with four rebounds and four steals while playing the entire quarter. Ylexzis Traeger added six points and four boards in the fourth to spur on the Builders. The Apprentice defense forced eight Marlin turnovers to ensure the comeback attempt.

The Apprentice defense chose to play out the possessions on defense, allowing the Marlins to burn clock late. By the time Apprentice was forced to foul, the guests were down 75-71 with 25 seconds to play. Harris made one at the charity stripe to push the lead to five. The VWU defense made it tough for the Builders to get a good, quick look at the basket on the final possession. Julissa Riddick knocked down a three-pointer with one second remaining for the final margin.

Traeger finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for Apprentice (2-5) as Bruce added seven points and 10 boards.

Harris paced the Marlins with 21 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. McSweeney posted 14 points while Gerni registered her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Virginia Wesleyan (3-4/0-1) hosts Guilford College (4-1/1-0) on Saturday, December 9 for a 4:30 p.m. ODAC start.