Marlins Fall in Final Non-Conference Tune-Up

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Wesleyan College women's basketball team fell 70-51 to Stevenson University in the non-conference finale Monday night.

The contest saw the return of Sara Tarbert to the Batten Center who scored 41 points and pulled down 15 rebounds last year in the Batten Center. Tarbert was not in the starting lineup Monday, held out of the first quarter due to a coach's decision.

The Mustangs managed a 15-10 first quarter lead despite having their star on the bench, pulling out to a 29-23 halftime lead behind 10 first-half points from Jonyae Curry.

The Marlins, entering the contest as the league leader in three-point shooting, were held in check in the first half, shooting 1-5 in the opening 20 minutes. For the game, Stevenson's defense limited VWC to a 2-13 (15.4%) mark from long distance.

Stevenson extended a six-point halftime lead early in the third quarter, going on a 9-0 run to garner a commanding 38-23 edge with 6:10 to play in the period. Tarbert had five points in the run while Curry tallied the other four.

The Marlins answered with layups from NiAsia Caldwell and Alexis Platt, but Virginia Wesleyan could not get closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

Curry finished with a career-high 18 points for Stevenson (10-6). Tarbert finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for her national-leading 16th double-double of the season.

Raya Berkley and Caldwell tied for the Marlin lead with 10 points while Crystal Strother posted seven points and four rebounds off the bench. Platt finished with five points and a team-leading six rebounds.

Virginia Wesleyan (9-6/4-2) travels to Washington and Lee University (7-7/3-3) Wednesday for a 7 p.m. Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) start.