The Virginia Wesleyan University women's basketball team (8-4, 2-1 ODAC) defeated ODAC opponent Lynchburg 79-76 to snap a nine-game losing streak against the Hornets. The last time the Marlins defeated the Hornets was on January 18, 2020, by a score of 69-61.
Keira Bagwell led the team with 23 points, shooting 9-for-16 from the floor, 3-for-6 from the field, and 2-for-3 from the free throw line. She had six rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Sydney Turner recorded 19 points, shooting 7-for-8 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line, with five rebounds and two steals.
Brianna Long had 16 points, shooting 7-for-9 from the floor and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe. She had four rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal.
The Hornets started the game well, jumping out to an 8-3 lead, but the Marlins clawed back with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 10-10. Lynchburg rallies and goes on an 8-0 run to take an 18-10 lead with 4:06 left in the first quarter. For the rest of the quarter, each team scored five points, bringing the score to 23-15.
In the second quarter, the Marlins caught fire, going on a 14-0 run to take a 29-23 lead with 4:11 left in the first half. After the moster run, the Hornets responded by outscoring VWU 8-6 the rest of the quarter. However, the Marlins held a 35-31 lead heading into the break.
Coming out of the break, Virginia Wesleyan came out hot again, going on a 9-2 run to increase their lead to 44-33 at the 7:14 mark in the third quarter. Over the next three minutes, the two teams traded points to bring the score to 51-40 with 1:57 left in the quarter. The Marlins finished the quarter strong with a 6-3 run to hold a 57-43 lead heading into the final frame.
Virginia Wesleyan started the fourth quarter well with a 12-4 run to increase their lead to 69-47 with 7:24 left in the game. The rest of the fourth quarter was a slow one, as Lynchburg shot 22 free throws the rest of the game to fuel a 29-10 run to cut the lead to 76-77 with 15 seconds left in the game. Clutch free throws were made by VWU down the stretch to seal the 79-76 win over Lynchburg.
