Fast Start Lifts Wasps over Marlins

EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College women's basketball team scored 25 points in the first quarter, on its way to an 81-67 victory over Virginia Wesleyan in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) action Saturday afternoon.

The Marlins held a 3-2 lead early as Amanda Gerni knocked down a 3-pointer just over a minutes into the game, but Emory & Henry responded with a 15-5 run to go up 17-8 with 3:05 to play in the first.

The Wasps received three layups late in the quarter, combined with a pair of Taylor Blevins free throws, to lead 25-16 after the first.

Virginia Wesleyan connected for four 3-pointers in the first quarter, but Emory & Henry took advantage of the high-percentage shots in the paint, shooting 52.6% from the field to lead by nine.

Emory & Henry went to the free throw line nine times in the first period, converting on five of those attempts. That was a big reason for the Wasps success, going 23-31 from the charity stripe for the game.

The Marlins struggled to overcome the nine-point, first quarter deficit, trailing the duration of the game. Virginia Wesleyan matched the Wasps point-for-point in the second and third quarters and was only outscored by five points in the fourth.

Blevins scored a game-high 27 points for Emory & Henry (13-6/7-3), including an incredible 17-20 mark at the free throw line, to go with seven rebounds. Megan Jacoby tallied 15 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

Gerni led the Marlins with 23 points including seven made 3-pointers. Jayla Harris tallied 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals in the game.

Virginia Wesleyan (11-8/6-4) travels to Eastern Mennonite (12-6/7-3) University Wednesday for a 7 p.m. ODAC start.

Notes

The Marlins are 32-22 all-time against Emory & Henry… This is the first loss to the Wasps since a 75-62 defeat in 2014-15...Gerni has at least seven 3-pointers in a game on four different occasions, Marlins are 2-2 in those games. She led the team in scoring in each of those games.