VIRGINIA BEACH -- Kristen Blalock is probably enjoying playing basketball against Washington & Lee University. (Box score)

The 6-foot-1 Virginia Wesleyan College junior forward scored a career-high 27 points Tuesday to lead the Marlins to a 59-47 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory at the Jane P. Batten Student Center.  Blalock (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian) (right) scored 20 points against the Generals on Jan. 4, starting a current streak of eight consecutive double-figure scoring contests.

On Tuesday she riddled the defense of the defending ODAC champions, scoring inside and outside.  She hit 11-of-19 field goal attempts overall, nailing a game-high 3-of-5 from three point range.  Blalock backed her scoring effort with a team-lading nine rebounds and two blocks.

Washington & Lee (11-5, 7-4) held a slim lead through most of the first half, only to see things start to slip away after VWC senior Kristina Jameson (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway)tied the game with a pair of free throws.  Seconds later the Marlins had the lead for good when Blalock ripped through a triple off an assist from rookie Katie Tassa (Bristow, Va./Manassas Osbourn Park).

It was all part of a 14-2 half-ending run by the Marlins, who posted a 30-20 lead at the break.

Washington & Lee's chances of pushing closer early in the second half were dashed when junior Jocelyn Spencer (Newport News, Va./Hampton Roads Academy)scored in the first 14 seconds for VWC.   That ignited a decisive 16-2 run by the Marlins, led by Blalock with seven points and a key triple from junior Beth Ann Boyce (Colonial Heights, Va./Colonial Heights).

Virginia Wesleyan enjoyed a 24-point lead twice in the second half and kept a 20-point game into the final six minutes.  Washington & Lee produced a final surge, led by Kari Ann Pfannenstein (Littleton, Colo./Heritage), who nailed two timely triples in an 11-0 run by the Generals to pull within a 53-43 score with 3:02 remaining to be played.

But, Virginia Wesleyan stepped up its defensive pressure the remainder of the game, preventing the Generals from getting room for easy shots.  Washington & Lee missed five consecutive shots against the defensive pressure, before Meg Ingram (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale) found an open lane to the basket with 28 seconds remaining.  Her layup cut VWC's lead to 56-45.

In addition to Blalock's production, Virginia Wesleyan also received a big game from junior Shawnee Lewis (Alexandria, Va./Thomas A. Edison), who cut through the Generals' defense for scores or drawing fouls.  She finished with 12 points, helped by a 6-of-7 effort from the free throw lines.

Virginia Wesleyan also helped itself by hitting 7-of-17 triples, led by Blalock with three and Boyce with two.  W&L attemped 12 triples and hit four, two each by Pfannenstein and Ingram.

Pfannenstein led the Generals with 16 points, hitting 7-of-12 field goal attempts.  Ingram finished with 13 points.  Katy Wilson (Chattanooga, Tenn./Baylor) led the Generals on the boards with 10 rebounds.

Virginia Wesleyan competes again on Saturday, Jan. 29, at Randolph-Macon College at 2 p.m.

--AMDG--