Big Second Half Carries Mary Washington to 67-50 Victory over Marlins

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The Virginia Wesleyan College women's basketball team trailed by just three points at halftime, 28-25, but a big second half carried the University of Mary Washington to a 67-50 victory Tuesday night.

The Marlins trailed by double-figures for a large portion of the first half, falling behind 21-9 with 6:17 to play in the first half as McKenzie Jenkins scored a layup off a Megan Green assist.

The Eagles answered a Crystal Strother layup with four points from Brianne Comden for a 25-11 lead. Virginia Wesleyan would get hot from that point on, outscoring the guests 14-3 in the final 4:30 of the quarter.

Trailing 27-13, Raya Berkley scored a layup, followed by a quick turnover and steal by Strother. VWC called a quick timeout, setting up Strother for a three-pointer right out of the break to cut the deficit to single digits, 27-18 with 2:45 in the half.

Jayla Harris and Berkley added layups as Mary Washington managed just one point in the next two minutes to cut the margin to six points, 28-22. Harris found Kasey Grainer with 28 seconds to go for a three-pointer from the top of the key, allowing the Marlins to take a one possession deficit into the half.

Virginia Wesleyan carried the momentum into the third quarter, tying the contest at 36 on a Strother trifecta with 4:46 left in the third, but the Marlins would not be able to take the lead as the Eagles went on an 8-0 run.

Mary Washington took advantage of their size in the post, outrebounding the Marlins 49-22 while scoring 20 second-chance points.

Comden finished with 24 points off the bench for Mary Washington (4-0) while Elizabeth Dofflemyer tallied 21 points and 11 rebounds from her reserve role.

Harris led the Marlins with 14 points and five assists as Strother finished with 13 points on three trifectas.

Virginia Wesleyan (2-3) travels to Roanoke College Sunday for a 4:30 p.m. start in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) opener for the Marlins.