Marlins Open New Year with 70-60 Victory

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Wesleyan College women's basketball team jumped out to a n impressive first quarter lead, ultimately defeating N.C. Wesleyan College 70-60 on Monday night.

N.C. Wesleyan led 8-7 on a Teah Parker layup with 4:08 to go in the first when the Marlin defense locked down, holding the visitors without a point the remainder of the period.

The Virginia Wesleyan full-court pressure defense forced the Battling Bishops into 14 turnovers in the first half, including several 10-second count violations. Virginia Wesleyan registered seven steals in the process.

The Battling Bishops also faced an uphill climb as one of their top scorers, KeChae Parker picked up three early fouls, limiting her to just three minutes of action in the first half.

While the defense locked down following the 8-7 deficit, the Marlins scored on five of their next six possessions, resulting in a 12-0 run and a 19-8 lead heading into the second. NiAsia Caldwell had seven points in the run while Jayla Harris and Alexis Platt scored a pair each and Amanda Gerni contributed one.

N.C. Wesleyan outscored the Marlins by one the remainder of the game, but the first quarter edge proved to be the difference.

The Marlins got an impressive game off the bench from Platt. The senior forward scored 19 points in 20 minutes of action to tie for the team lead in scoring. She was a perfect 8-of-8 from the field and led the team with seven rebounds. Caldwell contributed 19 points as well while Harris finished with nine points and four assists.

Timyra Staton led N.C. Wesleyan (5-6) with 14 points and nine rebounds as Parker tallied 13 points in 16 minutes of action.

Virginia Wesleyan (6-4/1-1) hosts Shenandoah University (3-8/0-2) in an ODAC contest Wednesday at 7 p.m.