For immediate release – 3/1/2015 - #285
Hornet Women Drop Heartbreaker 59-57 to VWC in ODAC Finals

SALEM, VA – Nancy Kelly sunk a pair of free throws with 10.5 seconds left to lift Virginia Wesleyan College to a 59-57 victory over Lynchburg College in the finals of the 2015 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Women's Basketball Championship Tournament Sunday. It was the first finals appearance in program history for the Hornets, and the first conference title for the Marlins.

Kelly made two free throws with just under a minute to play to put VWC ahead 57-55, but LC senior forward Shannon Allan drilled a jumper with 35 ticks on the clock to knot the game at 57 all. The Marlins called a pair of timeouts with 18 seconds left (13 on the shot clock) to set up their final scoring opportunity. Junior forward Sarah Coon rejected VWC's first attempt in the paint, but the Hornets were forced to foul Kelly when she snared the offensive rebound. After the two makes from the charity stripe, Lynchburg couldn't get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded.

The game featured solid defense and several runs by both teams. Lynchburg opened a 12-5 lead in the first seven minutes off of three baskets from Allan. Virginia Wesleyan got hot from beyond the three-point arc in a 23-8 run to go ahead 28-20 with three minutes left in the half. The Hornets finished the first half with a 10-1 surge to assume a 30-29 edge heading into intermission. Junior forward Chaney Forbush dominated the first half of play with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

LC opened a seven-point lead (40-33) with 11 minutes left in the second half, but Va. Wesleyan quickly went back ahead 43-41 with a 10-1 surge over a three-minute span. It was a one-possession game the remainder of the contest.

Forbush finished with game highs of 22 points and 19 rebounds on the afternoon, and blocked two shots before fouling out late. Charmaine Hairston netted 17 points, and hit 7-of-9 attempts from the free throw line. Allan had 14 points and seven rebounds. The trio combined for 53 of Lynchburg's 57 points.

Jones finished with a team-high 15 points for the Marlins (19-9), who earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Brittany Glasco posted 12 points and a team-best nine rebounds while Andrea Paphites and Kelly each had eight.  

Lynchburg out-rebounded VWC 51-38 and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds.

The Hornets (19-9) now await a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. View the NCAA selection show is Monday at 2:30 p.m. on NCAA.org.