The Virginia Wesleyan University women's basketball team (14-12, 8-8 ODAC) was defeated by the #2 seed in the ODAC Championship Quarterfinals 68-47.
Brianna Long led the team with 13 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the field and 5-for-7 from the free throw line, grabbed seven rebounds, one assist, and had four steals.
Maesyn Blaylock tallied 10 points, shooting 2-for-3 from the floor, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, and 4-for-6 from the free throw line, had one rebound, two assists, and one steal.
Sydney Turner recorded nine points, shooting 4-for-10 from the field, 1-for-1 from the charity stripe, three rebounds, one assist, and one block.
The game started well as the teams fought hard for every possession, with the teams deadlocked at 4-4 at the 5:53 mark in the first quarter. Virginia Wesleyan went on a 4-0 run with all four points scored by
Brianna Long to take an 8-4 lead with 3:25 left in the quarter. The Yellow Jackets responded with a three-pointer and went on to outscore VWU 2-1 to tie the game at 9-9 by the end of the first.
After a low-scoring first quarter, the second quarter saw sharp shooting from both teams, with RMC outscoring the Marlins 11-8 to lead 20-17 at the 6:50 mark. During the run, both teams combined made five threes, with each team only missing one shot during that time frame. The rest of the frame was highly competitive as well, with each team scoring nine points to bring the score to 29-26 with 1:36 before halftime. However, Randolph-Macon finished the quarter with a 4-0 run to take a 33-26 lead heading into the break.
After halftime, the Yellow Jackets scored the first bucket of the second half, but the Marlins outscored RMC 4-2 over the next two minutes to cut the lead to 37-30 at the 6:57 mark. Over the next two minutes, each team scored four points to bring the score to 41-34 at the 4:41 mark. However, in the last three minutes of the quarter, RMC outscored VWU 11-5 to hold a 52-39 lead heading into the final frame.
Heading into the final frame, Virginia Wesleyan never gave up and started the quarter on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 52-44 at the 7:22 mark. The Yellow Jackets countered with a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 61-44 with 3:21 left in the game. With the game firmly in hand, Randolph-Macon went on to win the game 68-47.
