VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia - The VWU women's basketball defeated the Panthers of Ferrum College 58-49 on Saturday afternoon in ODAC competition at the Jane P. Batten Student Center in Virginia Beach, Va. The Marlins move to 6-19 overall and 4-14 in ODAC competition, while the Panthers are now 4-21 and 4-14. With the win, the Marlins now advance to the quarterfinal round of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament.

INSIDE THE SCORE
The game began with Bianca Atkinson getting the Marlins on the board first with a long three-pointer 30 seconds into the game. VWU grew its lead to 7-1 at the 6:32 mark following back-to-back layups from Sabrina Jones. The Panthers climbed within two points twice, 7-5 and 9-7, before the Marlins went on a 9-5 run to close out the first quarter of action leading 18-12 at the buzzer.

Virginia Wesleyan opened a nine-point lead, 23-14, through the first three minutes of the second quarter. The Marlins maintained a minimum seven-point lead through the remainder of the quarter and entered halftime with a 10-point lead of 31-21. 

Ferrum clawed their way back to within five, trailing 31-28, following a 7-0 run to start the second half. VWU reclaimed a nine-point lead, 37-28, on a layup by Lindsey Hicks with four remaining in the third before the Panthers closed out the quarter on a 6-5 run to trail 42-34 heading into the final ten minutes of play. 

The Marlins reclaimed a double-digit lead of ten-points on a free-throw by Mak McSweeney with 7:30 on the clock that put the score at 46-36. VWU held on to their lead throughout the remainder of the contest and closed out the game scoring 12 points to the Panthers 13. 

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN LEADERS
The Marlins were led by Sabrina Jones with 17 points and nine rebounds while Logan Carter was next with 13 points in the game. Bianca Atkinson recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, setting career-highs in both categories. 

FERRUM LEADERS
The Panthers were led by Kayla Cabiness and Cameron Hawkins with 10 points apiece. Arin Bunker added nine of her own as the next highest scorer. 

KEY MOMENT
The key moment of the game came in the final six minutes of the first quarter when VWU opened up a six-point lead, 18-12, that would be the difference-maker the rest of the game. 

UP NEXT
With the win, the Marlins now advance to the quarterfinal round of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament which will take place on Monday, February 24, when VWU travels to Guilford for the opening round of action.