NEW YORK CITY -- A standout season for the Virginia Wesleyan College women's basketball team was stopped about 4.5 seconds shy of a major upset in the NCAA Division III championship tournament.
Trailing highly favored host team New York University 51-50, the Marlins had possession of the ball, under their own basketball, with 4.5 seconds on the clock. But, a chance to get off what could have been a winning shot was denied when the Violets collapsed around the ball to prevent any shot as the final buzzer sounded.
While No. 17 NYU (22-4) advances to Saturday's second-round game against Massachusetts' No. 12 Amherst College (24-3) at the Coles Center, VWC bows out of the tournament with a 19-10 record. Virginia Wesleyan entered the event as the Old Dominion Athletic Conference champion.
Virginia Wesleyan trailed 24-16 late in the first half, but staged a stunning rally in the final 58 seconds of the half to pull within a 24-21 score at the break. Senior Symonne Newsome (Reistertown, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) started it with a pair of free throws and senior Kerri-Leanne Taylor (Stockport, England/Pottstown, Pa. Hill School) narrowed the gap with a triple assisted by Brittany Glasco (Fredericksburg/Massaponax).
The Marlins rode that momentum into the early minutes of the second half to take a 25-24 lead after key scores from senior Nancy Kelly (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) and Newsome. That set the stage for an back-and-forth battle to the final buzzer, featuring seven tie scores and 11 lead changes.
Virginia Wesleyan pushed out to its largest lead of the game at 48-44, helped by scoring from sophomore Alexis Platt (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) and Kelly. But, a triple from Riley Wurtz (Sandy Hook, Conn./Newtown) shifted momentum back to the Violets, who moved back in front 49-48 after a pair of free throws from Melissa Peng (San Diego, Calif./Westview).
VWC never let up however, as Kelly came through again, scoring on a layup assisted by Taylor to give the Marlins a 50-49 advantage with 1:32 remaining. After 6-foot Megan Dawe (Santa Clara, Calif./Saugus) scored to shift the lead back to NYU at 51-50 with 1:10 on the clock, the teams traded turnovers, with the Violets relinquishing the ball with nine seconds on the clock.
That gave Virginia Wesleyan the ball, and the chance for the game-winning shot, but the Marlins could not find the opening and NYU survived for the 51-50 win.
Newsome led VWC with 12 points, followed by Glasco and junior Kelly Jones (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron), with 10 points each. Kelly finished with seven points. Senior Andrea Paphites (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) helped the Marlins with four blocks, two steals and seven rebounds. Glasco led VWC on the board with eight rebounds.
Dawe finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for NYU. Kaitlyn Read (University Park, Texas/Highland Park) added 11 points and five steals and Peng tallied 10 points.
Virginia Wesleyan's defense played a big part in keeping the Violets close as the Marlins helped force 25 NYU turnovers. VWC came up with 14 steals, led by Glasco with five. The taller NYU team eked out a 38-37 edge on the backboards, as Dawe, Read, and 6-1 Emily Rowe (Vancouver, Wash./Union) all pulled down seven rebounds.
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