VIRGINIA BEACH -- It was only fitting that five seniors dominated scoring and rebounding on Sunday to carry Virginia Wesleyan College's Marlins to a decisive 70-34 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory over Hollins University in the annual Senior Day game.
VWC's seniors -- Andrea Paphites (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne), Symonne Newsome (Reistertown, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls), Nancy Kelly (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney), Kerri-Leanne Taylor (Stockport, England/Pottstown, Pa. The Hill School), and Brittany Glasco (Fredericksburg/Massaponax) -- combined to scored 46 points and pull down 28 of the Marlins' total 50 rebounds.
Virginia Wesleyan (16-9, 10-6 ODAC) never trailed and rode impressive three-point shooting to pull away early. Sophomore Crystal Strothers (Accokeek, Md./Brandywine Gwynn Park), junior Kelly Jones (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron), Taylor, Newsome, and Paphites all hit triples in a four-minute span to help the Marlins open up a 21-2 lead at the Jane P. Batten Student Center.
Taylor Catron (Tazewell/Tazwell) and Jewell Parfitt (Roanoke/Patrick Henry) followed with scores for Hollins, which was hampered by turnovers that prevented the team from getting anything sparked consistently. VWC's pressuring defense helped to force 18 Hollins turnovers in the first half and 31 in the game overall.
Virginia Wesleyan led 41-12 at halftime and picked up the scoring pace quickly in the second half, scoring the first eight points to widen the gap.
VWC head coach Stephany Dunmyer called on 15 Marlins during the game and 12 scored. Paphites led all scoring with 14 points, followed by Newsome with 10 points, and Glasco with nine. VWC's effort on the boards, which produced the third highest rebounding total of the season, was led by Glasco with nine and Paphites with seven.
The Marlins' alert play at both ends of the court produced 18 assists and 14 steals. Newsome emerged as the VWC leader in both areas, tying a season-high total with seven assists and recording a season-high mark with six steals. Jones also finished with a season-high, recording six assists.
Parfitt led Hollins with 12 points, while Britney Campbell (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) led HU's rebounding effort with nine.
Virginia Wesleyan competes again at 3 p.m. on Friday, February 27, in the quarterfinals of the ODAC tournament at the Civic Center in Salem. The Marlins will play the winner of a first-round game between Hollins and Guilford College.
--AMDG--