SALEM, Va. -- Only a couple of hours after Virginia Wesleyan College's men won their way into the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) title game on Sunday, the Marlin women made it a championship reservation for two.

The Marlins jumped on top-seeded Eastern Mennonite University's Royals early and led most of the way en route to posting an impressive 78-71 victory in Saturday's semifinal game at the Civic Center.  VWC, which snapped EMU's 11-game winning streak, advances to the ODAC championship game on Sunday, March 1, at 3:30 p.m.  It will mark Virginia Wesleyan's sixth appearance in the title game overall and fifth in the last nine years, the latter under the director of current head coach Stephany Dunmyer.

Senior stalwart Brittany Glasco  (Fredericksburg/Massaponax) hit a triple to open scoring by the Marlins (18-9), who proceeded to open up a 19-12 lead, helped by key scoring from Andrea Paphites (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) and Alexis Platt (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne). The Royals (22-4) cut to within a point minutes later, but Paphites hit two timely triples to knock EMU back into a seven-point deficit.

Three-point shooting helped give the Marlins momentum throughout the first half as Virginia Wesleyan hit 8-of-18 triples in the first half.  Kelly Jones(Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) and Symonne Newsome(Reistertown, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) hit back-to-back triples and rookie Naeemah Morris (Richmond/Douglas S. Freeman)scored on a layup, giving VWC its largest lead of the half at 37-28.

After EMU called a timeout to regroup, the Royals rallied behind seven points from ODAC Player of the Year Jess Rheinheimer (Manheim, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) to tie the game at 39 by halftime. A three-point shot by Sa'Mone Moore (Covington/Covington) gave EMU its largest lead of the game at 47-44 early in the second half and the Royals led 47-46 on a basket by Nora Osei (Springfield/West Springfield) with 15:08 on the clock.

Virginia Wesleyan regained the lead for good when Jones hit a pair of free throws and followed those points with a jumper to give the Marlins a 50-47 advantage. EMU stayed close for the next several minutes, but VWC benefited from a three-point play by senior Nancy Kelly(Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) to open up a 55-50 lead at 11:48.  Seconds later it was 57-50 after senior Kerri-Leanne Taylor(Stockport, England/Pottstown, Pa. The Hill School) hit a jumper for the Marlins.

Eastern Mennonite pulled back within five points in the following minutes, but pulled away for good with a decisive 14-5 scoring run in a six-minute span.  Kelly scored six points, Newsome and Paphites tallied three each, and Taylor hit for two as VWC opened up a 71-57 lead with just 2:50 on the clock.

Four Marlins scored in double figures, led by Kelly with 15 points and Paphites with 14. Kelly hit 7-of-12 field goal attempts. Glasco and Newsome followed with 11 points each.  Newsome hit 3-of-5 field goal attempts, all triples.  VWC connected on 11-of-26 triples overall, led by Paphites with four.

Rheinheimer led EMU with 24 points, helped by an 8-of-11 showing from the charity stripes. Shakeerah Sykes (Dumfries/Forest Park) also hit 8-of-11 free throws and scored 16 points. Myneshia Walker (Freeman/Brunswick) tallied 10 points for EMU.

Skyes and Rheinheimer led all rebounding with 15 and 14 caroms, respectively, but Virginia Wesleyan finished with a 45-41 advantage on the boards. Paphites pulled down seven rebounds for the Marlins, who received six each from Newsome, Glasco, and Jones.

--AMDG--