The Virginia Wesleyan University women's basketball (5-12, 1-9 ODAC) team fell to conference opponent Randolph-Macon 73-49.
Brianna Long led the Marlins with nine points, going 4-for-9 from the field and 1-for-3 from the free throw line; she had six rebounds and one block.
Bre Robinson scored eight points as she shot 4-for-10 from the field and registered five rebounds, one assist, and one block.
Mekayla Clarke also tallied eight points, shooting 3-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line; Clarke recorded five rebounds and one steal.
Randolph-Macon had a strong start to the first quarter with a 4-0 run, but the Marlins responded with two consecutive baskets to tie the game at 4-4. The Yellow Jackets constructed another 4-0 run to bring the score to 8-4 with 6:21 on the clock.
Bre Robinson made a layup to put the Marlins within two points, and Randolph-Macon scored a three to stretch the lead to 11-6. Neither team scored a bucket between 4:57 and 2:21. After the scoring drought, the Marlins made two free throws to bring themselves within three points. The last bucket made was by Randolph-Macon with 1:11 on the clock with the Yellow Jackets ahead 13-8.
Keagan Schwab led the Marlins with a three-pointer to begin second quarter play.
Jaiden Hunter followed up with a layup to tie the game at 13-13. She also made her foul shot to give the Marlins their first lead of the night at 14-13. The Yellow Jackets were quick to recover with a 12-0 run to lead 25-14 with 5:58 on the clock. The Marlins managed to bridge the gap as they executed their layups and brought the score to 28-32. Randolph-Macon made the final two buckets of the period to lead 36-28 entering halftime.
Randolph-Macon outscored the Marlins 9-2 in the first two and a half minutes of third quarter play. The Yellow Jackets achieved their largest lead of the night up to that point with 2:35 on the clock and leading 49-34.
Maesyn Blaylock responded with a three-pointer, and
Mekayla Clarke put forward a strong performance at the end of the third quarter to put the Marlins within nine points of the home team.
The Yellow Jackets dominated the final quarter of play, preventing the Marlins from scoring until 4:37 when
Jada Norman scored from beyond the arc. It was too late to create a comeback, and the Yellow Jackets ended up winning 73-49.
The women's basketball team will return to competition on Saturday, February 1st at 2:00 p.m. in a home game against Ferrum College.
