ST. THOMAS, V.I. -- It was not one of the easiest victories of the season, but it was one of the most gratifying for the Virginia Wesleyan College women's basketball team.
Seniors Brittany Glasco, Symonne Newsome and Nancy Kelly combined to score 49 points Friday to help the Marlins overcome the absence of two key players and still post a 67-63 victory over Boston's Emerson College at the St. Thomas Classic played at the University of Virgin Islands' Sports and Fitness Center.
Starter and team assists leader Andrea Paphites (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) and Kelly Jones (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron), one of the team's top long-distance shooting threats, sat out with injuries sustained during Thursday's win over Massachusetts' Nichols College. Paphites reaggravated a knee injury and Jones sprained an ankle.
But, Glasco (Fredericksburg/Massaponax), Newsome (Reistertown,Md./St. Paul's School for Girls), and Kelly (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) helped pick up the slack on both ends of the court to help Virginia Wesleyan (7-3) to its fifth straight victory. It is VWC's longest winning streak since the Marlins won seven straight games near the end of the 2012-13 season.
Newsome came on strong with one of her best games of the season, recording career high totals of 16 points and eight rebounds. She also had two assists and a steal. Glasco took high scoring honors for the Marlins with 19 points, hitting 8-of-16 field goal attempts, and she led the game with a six steals, which ties her career high set against Bridgewater College in 2013.
Emerson's Lions (6-3) led 18-8 early and 32-28 at halftime, but had problems with Virginia Wesleyan's pressuring defense throughout the second half. The Lions connected on 52.2% from the field in the first half, but saw that accuracy fall to 36% in the second half. VWC helped force Emerson into a season-high 28 turnovers, which the Marlins turned into 22 points.
Both teams scored 22 points from the free throw lines. Kristin Brice (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) hit 7-of-10 freebies to lead Emerson, which also got a 5-of-5 effort from Kelsey Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers). VWC was led by Newsome with a 7-of-9 effort.
Janissa Delzo (Middlesex, N.J./Wardalw-Hartridge) and Johnson led Emerson scoring overall, each with 13 points. Brice finished with 11 and Eastin Asby (Pittston, Pa./Pittston) chipped in with 10. Brice also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, leading Emerson to a 44-39 advantage on the boards.
Virginia Wesleyan breaks now for the holidays and will return to competition on Saturday, Jan. 3, playing at 2 p.m. at Emory & Henry College in Old Dominion Athletic Conference competition.
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