LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Kristen Blalock and Shawnee Lewis both posted season-high scoring totals on Saturday to lead Virginia Wesleyan College's Marlins to an 82-47 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory over the host Hornets of Lynchburg College.

Blalock (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian) hit for 26 points and Lewis (Alexandria, Va./Thomas A. Edison) added another 15 points to lead a balanced Virginia Wesleyan offense.  Twelve Marlins played and 11 scored.

Shannon Allan (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) hit a jumper to tie the game at 2-all for Lynchburg (0-6, 0-3), before a pair of Blalock free throws gave Virginia Wesleyan (4-1, 3-0) the lead for good.  Katie Reeves (Fredericksburg, Va./Liberty) scored on a pair of freebies to pull the Hornets within one at 6-5, and that was as close as it would get.

Lewis nailed a jumper to spark a 33-8 scoring surge for Virginia Wesleyan, which opened up a 39-13 lead with 4:35 remaining to be played in the first half.  Seven Marlins scored in the decisive run, led by Blalock with nine points.  RookieSarah Seipp (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) and Lews came through with six points each, rookieKerri-Leanne Taylor (Stockport, England/The Hill School (Pa.) tallied five, senior Beth Ann Boyce (Colonial Heights, Va./Colonial Heights) scored three, and Nancy Kelly (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) and Symonne Newsome (Reistertown, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) added two points each.

Shea Kelley (Norristown, Pa./Kennedy-Kenrick), Caitlin Falls (Montea, Va./Staunton River), and Allan helped the Hornets cut it back to 49-26 by halftime, but it did little to turn momentum.  VWC out-scored Lynchburg 16-7 in the first eight minutes of the second half, including a Boyce triple.  VWC posted its largest lead at 77-39 on a Lewis layup with 6:27 remaining to be played.

VWC hit 44.6% from the field for the game, including 50% in the first half.  Blalock led that effort, connecting on 10-of-14 field goal attempts and 6-of-8 free throws.  Lewis put through 5-of-8 field goal attempts.  VWC posted a 43-38 advantage in rebounding, led by Blalock and Katie Tassa (Bristow, Va./Manassas Osbourn Park) with nine each.  Rachael Miller (Sterling, Va./Park View) recorded a game-high five assists.

Allan led Lynchburg scoring with 14 points.  Katie Crump (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock) pulled down eight rebounds for the Hornets.

Virginia Wesleyan plays again on Tuesday, Dec. 6, when the Marlins host the Monarchs of North Carolina's Methodist University in a non-conference game at 6 p.m.  VWC and Methodist will also meet in men's competition the same day, immediately following the women's game. 

--AMDG--