Marlins Fall to Emory & Henry 73-61 on Senior Day

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Wesleyan College women's basketball team mounted a late rally, but fell short 73-61 to Emory & Henry College in the regular season finale for both teams.

The Marlins recognized seniors Alexis Platt and Crystal Strother in a pregame ceremony as part of Senior Day.

Strother stepped up in a big way in the first half, scoring 16 points of the Marlins' 23 first-half points.

The teams went back and forth in the opening 20 minutes with the Wasps leading 19-14 just over a minute into the second quarter when a 8-2 run over the next five minutes put the Marlins back in front 22-21.

Strother started the run with back-to-back 3-pointers. The Wasps received a layup by Laken Blackburn, but a jumper by NiAsia Caldwell put the Marlins up 22-21 to cap off the run.

Emory & Henry responded with eight-straight points over the next four minutes to jump back out 29-22. All but two of the points during the E&H spurt came via the free throw or on second-chance opportunities.

The Wasps jumped out to an 8-2 run to start the second half to go up 39-25, their largest margin of the game up to that point, with 7:25 to play in the third. Taylor Blevins had six of the points during that run after being held to just five points in the first half.

Emory & Henry continued to pull away in the third quarter, taking a 56-39 lead into the fourth period.

The Marlins came out strong in the fourth, getting four quick points from Jayla Harris and Jaelyn Washington.

Virginia Wesleyan continued to press the Wasps to fight back into the game, cutting the deficit to just eight points with 1:22 to play when a Strother layup made the score 69-61.

The Marlins had to start fouling following an empty possession on the offensive end. The Wasps made four of 10 free throws down the stretch to hold on to the lead.

Blevins had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Emory & Henry (18-7/12-4) to help the Wasps lock up the No. 3 seed in the upcoming ODAC tournament.

Strother led the Marlins with 20 points and eight rebounds while Platt contributed nine points and nine rebounds.

The Marlins finish the regular season 13-12, 8-8 in the ODAC. Combined with a win by Randolph-Macon, VWC is tied with the Yellow Jackets for fifth place in the ODAC standings. Virginia Wesleyan will host an ODAC tournament first round game Tuesday at 7 p.m. against a team to be determined.