The Virginia Wesleyan women's basketball team (5-19, 1-15 ODAC) battled the WildCats of Randolph College in their final game of the season, falling short 64-58.
Mekayla Clarke,
Jada Norman, and
Keagan Schwab were recognized for Senior Day before the start of play.
Brianna Long led the Marlins with 18 points, going 8-for-14 from the field and 2-for-4 from the free throw line; she had 10 rebounds and three assists.
Keagan Schwab had 14 points, shooting 4-for-11 from the field, 4-for-8 from three-point territory, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line; Schwab tallied two rebounds and five assists.
Mekayla Clarke recorded eight points, going 3-for-11 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line; she registered four rebounds and one assist.
The senior Marlins came out strong as
Mekayla Clarke and
Jada Norman made the first two baskets of the game to put the home team ahead 4-0 with 8:08 on the clock. After nearly two minutes of scoreless play, Randolph scored a jumper to get on the board.
Brianna Long responded with a layup, and then Randolph made two free throws to bring the score to 6-4 for VWU. Between 4:32 and 3:25,
Keagan Schwab made back-to-back three-pointers, extending the Marlin lead to 12-4; but the visiting team found success from beyond the arc as well, claiming a pair of three-point baskets for themselves to get to 12-10 with the Marlins just two points ahead.
Jaiden Hunter scored a layup, and the WildCats made a three in the final minutes of first quarter play, putting the Marlins ahead by a one point margin 14-13.
The WildCats scored a layup to start the second quarter, claiming their first lead of the game of 15-14; but
Bre Robinson made a layup of her own to put the Marlins on top once more. The WildCats took advantage of turnovers by the home team and outscored them 11-2 between 7:50 and 4:46, creating a 27-18 lead. A layup by
Jaiden Hunter and a jumper by
Jada Norman bridged the gap to five, but Randolph responded with a 6-0 scoring run to lead 33-22 with 3:09 remaining in second quarter play. The Marlins managed to outscore their opponents 7-2 in the final minutes of play to bring the score to 35-29 for the WildCats going into halftime.
The WildCats outscored the Marlins 4-2 through the 7:31 mark at the beginning of the third quarter. After a four minute scoring drought, Randolph executed a layup to lead 41-31 with 3:18 on the clock. The Marlins regained momentum with an 8-3 run, ended with a three from
Keagan Schwab to finish the third quarter just five points behind Randolph with a score of 44-39.
The Marlins and WildCats exchanged layups to start the final quarter of play, and then
Brianna Long and
Mekayla Clarke made back-to-back shots to find themselves just one point behind the visitors. Randolph stretched their lead to six with a layup and three-pointer, but
Brianna Long was aggressive for the Marlins as she made back-to-back layups to shrink the deficit to two with 5:05 remaining in play. Randolph scored a layup and made the foul shot for the three point play, extending their lead to five; but
Brianna Long found success in the paint yet again for a layup, bringing the score to 54-51 for the WildCats. Randolph made another layup, and this time,
Bre Robinson responded with a layup of her own to bring the Marlins within three. A three-pointer by the WildCats with 2:23 on the clock gave them the momentum they needed to win the game. The Marlins fought hard, but they fell just short, losing 64-58.
