For immediate release – 2/28/2015 - #289
Hornet Women Advance to ODAC Finals with 53-40 win over E&H

SALEM, VA – A strong defensive effort gave the third-seeded Lynchburg College women's basketball team a 53-40 victory Saturday night over #7 Emory & Henry College in the semifinals of the 2015 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament. The Hornets are looking for the first ODAC title in program history.  

Lynchburg started the game on fire on the offensive end, hitting five of its first six shots to take a 16-9 lead after back-to-back three pointers from senior forward Shannon Allan. E&H trimmed the edge to just three at the eight-minute mark of the first half, but a 14-4 run pushed the lead to 37-24 at the break.

The Hornets pushed the lead to over 20 with a stifling defensive effort to open the second half. A 10-3 surge to start the stanza over the first 11 minutes put LC ahead 48-27, holding the Wasps to just 1-of-15 shooting in the run. LC led by a healthy margin the rest of the way and cruised to the 13-point win.

Allan finished with a game-high 15 points with four rebounds. Junior forward Chaney Forbush collected 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots and sophomore guard Charmaine Hairston netted nine points. Junior guard Sammi Goldsmith contributed six points, six rebounds and three assists and freshman forward Caroline Naumann came off the bench to add eight rebounds and four points.

Kristie Langley posted a double-double for the Wasps with 10 points and 13 rebounds while Amanda Staley tallied eight points and eight rebounds on the night.

Lynchburg held E&H to only 25 percent shooting (15-60) from the field and 13 percent (2-16) from beyond the three-point arc.

"This is a special moment, but we are not done," said head coach Abby Pyzik Smith. "We want that title, and to compete for championships consistently in the future."

Lynchburg (19-8) moves on to the conference finals to face fourth-seeded Virginia Wesleyan College Sunday at 3:30 p.m. with the ODAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. The teams split two regular-season match-ups with each team winning on its home court.

The win gives the Hornets the most wins in program history, breaking the former mark of 18 set in 2012-13.

Emory & Henry ends the season with a 15-13 record.