SALEM, Va. -- Game time dwindled under 10 seconds remaining to be played as Virginia Wesleyan College senior Brittany Glasco raced toward the basket with her team trailing by one point to the Quakers of Guilford College.
A consistent threat to score when she drives to the basket, Glasco (Fredericksburg/Massaponax) opted for something else. As she moved in close to the basket she spotted senior teammate Symonne Newsome (Resitertown, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) positioned near the basket. Glasco fired the ball through the defense to Newsome, who put it up and through the hoop with 6.3 seconds remaining to give the Marlins a 78-77 lead.
VWC head coach Stephany Dunmyer called an immediate timeout to set up a defense for the ensuing seconds, and the move paid off as Marlin pressure limited the Quakers to a hurried shot that bounced over the backboard as time expired.
The victory sends No. 4 seeded Virginia Wesleyan into the ODAC seminfinals on Saturday, Feb. 28, to face top-seeded Eastern Mennonite University. EMU shook off No. 8 seed Bridgewater College 77-66 in an earlier quarterfinal game.
Fifth-seeded Guilford (17-10) had the lead at 77-76 and a chance to build on it from the free throw line. But, the Quakers missed both ends of a two-shot situation and lost the all-important rebound after the second shot to VWC senior Nancy Kelly (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney). Kelly dished the ball off to Glasco, who finished it off with the assist to Newsomer for the eventual winning basket.
VWC's victory was its third over Guilford this season and ended a three-year streak of ODAC tournament losses to Quaker teams, inlcuding the 2012 and 2013 teams that went on to win tournament titles.
Guilford had things working in its favor again Friday, wiping out a five-point deficit in the first half to take a 31-28 halftime lead, helped by a jumper from Brittany Drew (Greensboro, N.C./Page) with one second remaining.
Kalie Cuttai (Eden, N.C./Morehead), Anais Weatherly (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor), and Lauren Ramsey (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) sparked Quaker scoring to push Guilford out to a 54-44 advantge with 10:32 remaining to be played, but it wasn't enough. Newsome scored five straight points to spark a VWC rally that outscored Guilford 16-4 to create a 60-58 VWC lead, helped by four straight points from sophomore Alexis Platt (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) to produce a 58-all tie. Glasco hit two free throws to push the Marlins in front.
Guilford regained the lead twice in the final seconds, but Andrea Paphites (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) and Glasco both hit crucial baskets to tie the game. Glasco hit a layup with five seconds remaining to make it a 64-all game, and a three-point attempt at the buzzer missed for the Quakers.
Overtime was tense throughout, creating five ties and five lead changes. Neither team led by more than two points in the extra minutes.
Four Marlins finished in double-figure scoring, led by Paphites with 16 points. She hit 5-of-8 field goals, including 3-of-6 triple attempts. Newsome, who also hit three triples, connect on 6-of-8 shots overall to finish with 15 points. Glasco finished with 15 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Platt contributed with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Weatherly led Guilford with 17 points, followed by Cuttaia and Ramsey with 15 points each.
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