HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Virginia Wesleyan College's women's basketball Marlins outscored the host Royals of Eastern Mennonite University 10-4 in overtime Saturday to post a thrilling 82-76 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory.
It was a win that gave Virginia Wesleyan a solo lead in the ODAC, improving the Marlins to 15-2 in the loop and 18-4 overall. The loss, the first in 14 home games this season for EMU, dropped the Royals to 14-3 in the league and to 18-3 overall. VWC also defeated EMU 62-57 earlier this season in Virginia Beach. EMU entered Saturday's game ranked No. 5 in the first NCAA South Region poll of the season.
Rookie Sarah Seipp (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) scored six points in OT for the Marlins, hitting a crucial three-pointer with 2:18 to play to give Virginia Wesleyan a 79-72 lead. Eastern Mennonite came back to cut the spread to three points with 1:45 to play, but Seipp hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to keep the Marlins in front.
Seipp tied her season high scoring 27 points, the third highest total by a VWC rookie, hitting 9-or-20 field goals, including three triples. Senior Kristen Blalock (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian) added 14 points and led all rebounders with nine.
Virginia Wesleyan never trailed in OT, as rookieBrittany Glasco (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax) hit a jumper at 3:45. A layup by Blalock followed, as well as Seipp's triple to open up the seven-point margin. EMU missed five shots in the same span.
Overtime was needed after Stephanie Rheinheimer (Manheim, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) hit a jumper with nine seconds remaining in the second half to tie the score at 72-all. Virginia Wesleyan lead through the final 3:26, after a Glasco layup gave VWC a 62-61 lead. Senior Shawnee Lewis (Alexandria, Va./Thomas A. Edison) hit timely free throws to help the Marlins lead 75-70 and 72-67 before Rheinheimer took over for EMU.
Eastern Mennonite led 50-40 with 12:28 remaining in the game, but could not make it stick. VWC outscored the Royals 22-11 in a 12-minute span to take the lead on Glasco's layup. Six Marlins scored in the run, led by Seipp with nine points.
A key factor in the win for VWC was bench play as the Marlins' players off the bench scored 44 points, as compared to 20 points from the EMU subs. Virginia Wesleyan also enjoyed another solid effort from the free throw stripes, nailing 21-of-26 attempts. The Marlins also hit seven triples and out-rebounded EMU 41-35.
Kala Yoders (Myerstown, Pa./Eastern Lebanon County) led EMU with 15 points and Rheiheimer finished with 14. Shakeerah Sykes added 12 points and Alisa Brown tallied 10. Sykes led EMU on the boards with seven rebounds.
Virginia Wesleyan continues its regular-season ending string of road games on Tuesday, Feb. 14, playing at Bridgewater College at 7 p.m.
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