LEXINGTON, Va. (BC Athletics) – The Bridgewater College women’s basketball team bounced back as the defense shined in a 58-37 victory over Virginia Wesleyan on Friday night.

The Basics
Score: (RV) Bridgewater 58, Va. Wesleyan 37
Records: (RV) Bridgewater 14-3 (7-1 ODAC), Va. Wesleyan 10-7 (4-4 ODAC)

How It Happened
• Virginia Wesleyan got on the board first on a third-chance effort, but a second-chance bucket from Autumn Gentry evened the score. The Marlins coughed the ball up on their next possession and Aisia Williams finished at the cup to give the Eagles their first lead of the night. VWU responded with a game-tying bucket, but a Gentry long two-pointer gave BC the advantage back. Gentry’s bucket sparked an 8-0 Eagles’ run with scores from Corcoran, Jay Garcia and Jaiden Polston as well. The Marlins ended a near five-minute scoring drought, but Corcoran had the Eagles response. The two sides traded buckets to end the period with another Corcoran score making it 16-8 in favor of the Eagles.

• Gentry got the scoring started for the Eagles to open the second stanza. VWU had a reply, but a pair of makes at the charity stripe by Garcia pushed the lead back to double figure at 20-10. Back-to-back scores by the Marlins allowed them to close back to within two possessions, but a pair of buckets by Corcoran and four misses by the Marlins pushed the lead back to 10 points once again. The two sides continued to trade scores with neither side scoring more than three points in succession. A Savannah Wilson three-pointer in the waining moments of the frame made it a 32-21 advantage for BC heading to the intermission.

• The Marlins opened the third quarter with a make at the charity stripe, but the period belonged to the Eagles. BC followed with a layup by Williams that sparked a 10-0 run led by four points from Polston to make it a 42-22 advantage for the home team. VWU finally got their first make of the quarter with 2:43 to go in the frame as the Eagles held them without a point for over five minutes. The Marlins had missed their last eight field goal attempts before a jumper ended the drought. BC replied instantly with another Polston bucket, but a short 7-2 Virginia Wesleyan scoring run to end the third quarter made it a 46-31 advantage for the Eagles heading to the fourth quarter.

• A score in transition to open the fourth quarter continued the scoring swing for the Marlins. The Eagles scored the next bucket, but it came over a minute later on a Polston put-back. Corcoran followed with a score for the Eagles on a drive through the lane and BC began to leave no doubt as they embarked on a 10-1 scoring run over the next 4:45 capped off by another Corcoran bucket. An old-fashioned three-point play by the Marlins ended the drought, but a make at the charity stripe by Gentry capped off the dominating victory.
Match Notes

• Corcoran led the BC offense once again with 21 points. Polston tossed in 12 points., while Garcia fueled a massive rebounding edge for the Eagles with 13 boards.

• Turner led VWU with 11 points and was the only Marlin in double figures. Long grabbed 10 rebounds for the Marlins.

• Virginia Wesleyan entered Friday as the conference leader in field goal percentage and three-point percentage, but the Eagles’ defense did what it does best as it limited VWU to 26.2% from the field and 5.9% (1-of-17) from deep. Bridgewater also held a 42-28 edge on the glass thanks to a 33-16 edge on the defensive end.

Up Next
Bridgewater continues a three-game homestand on Wednesday as it hosts No. 22 Shenandoah on Country Music Night.

— BC Athletics —