VIRGINIA BEACH -- Lynchburg College's defense held up as long as it could against a Virginia Wesleyan College women's basketball team undeterred about attempting three-point shots in pressure-packed situations.
While Lynchburg, the No. 1 preseason pick in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, played through the final 3:22 of Wednesday's game at the Jane P. Batten Student Center without a field goal, Virginia Wesleyan three triples and made two en route to a thrilling 63-59 league victory.
Senior Andrea Paphites (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) hit both of VWC's big triples, including what turned out to be the win-clincher from the left side with 38 seconds on the clock. Senior Symonne Newsome (Reistertown, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) found Paphites open for the shot that gave VWC the lead for the first time since the 5:19 of the first half when the Marlins held a 26-25 advantage.
Paphites, who hit only two triples in the game against a Lynchburg squad that entered the game as the top defensive team in the ODAC against the three, nailed her first gutsy trey off a pass from sophomore Alexis Platt (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) with 2:19 remaining to tie the game at 57-all. That shot completed a valiant comeback by the Marlins, who trailed 52-46 with 8:20 on the clock.
Lynchburg regained the lead briefly after Paphites' first triple when Sammi Goldsmith (Jamestown, N.C./Bishop McGuinness) hit two free throws to push the Hornets in front 59-57. But single freebies by Newsome and Platt in the ensuing seconds tied the score again, this time at 59-all with 1:24 on the clock.
The Hornets had the chance to take the lead, but a shot inside was blocked by Paphites. Lynchburg retrieved the rebound, but turned the ball over on an errant attempt to get it inside again. A few seconds later, Paphites hit the triple that gave VWC a 62-59 lead. Another Lynchburg turnover gave the ball back to the Marlins and senior Brittany Glasco (Fredericksburg/Massaponax) hit the second of two free throws to give VWC its final margin of victory, 63-59 with nine seconds on the clock.
Paphites and Glasco were two of four Marlins to finish in double figure scoring. Paphites led the way with 12 points, and three crucial blocks, while Glasco added 10 points and a team-leading seven rebounds and four steals. Junior Kelly Jones (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) and Platt, who both provided VWC with key scoring, added 11 points each. Platt also came up big on the boards, pulling down five rebounds, including three crucial caroms in the final three minutes.
Virginia Wesleyan hit 6-of-19 triples overall, tying the highest total of treys allowed by Lynchburg all season. Jones and Paphites connected on two each and Newsome and Glasco added one each.
Chaney Forbush (Clifton/Centreville) led Lynchburg with 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Charmaine Hairston (Rocky Mount, Va./Franklin County) also scored 15 points, and led the Hornets with a 6-of-6 showing from the free throw lines..
VWC started strong in the game, opeing up a 9-0 lead in the first 3:04 of competition. Olivia DeFrancesco (Greensboro, N.C./Bishop McGuinness) and Forbush put the Hornets back into it quickly however, as Lynchburg tied the score at 15-all with 12:14 on the clock. The teams produced five more ties in the half, before four straight freebies by Hairston gave the Hornets a 29-26 advantage. Jumpers by Shannon Allan (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) and Forbush helped Lynchburg to remain in front at halftime, 33-30.
A 5-0 start to the second half enabled the Hornets to open up a 38-30 lead, but VWC came back to pull within two points four times, including 48-46 on a jumper by Crystal Strother (Accokeek, Md./Brandywine Gwynne Park) with 9:23 on the clock. Caroline Naumann (Mechanicsville, Va./St. Catherine's) provided Lynchburg with two big back-to-back baskets to extend the Hornets lead to 52-46, before Virginia Wesleyan rallied for the final time to overtake the lead in the waning minutes.
Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Saturday, Jan. 24, in ODAC action at Washington and Lee University at 2 p.m.
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