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Guilford College will host NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament games this Friday and Saturday (March 3-4) in the Ragan-Brown Field House on campus. Photo courtesy Guilford SportsSALEM, Va. - Guilford College’s Anais Weatherly claimed the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament M.V.P. honor as the Quakers earned the school’s fifth Conference Tournament Championship with a Sunday afternoon victory over top-seeded Lynchburg College, 59-53.
Both sides remained even, 4-4, through the first four minutes as both sides featured physical defensive and rebounding play. The Hornets (22-6) produced a 6-0 run after the 3:38 mark to produce a four-point lead. An Essence Abraham field goal stopped the run with 41 seconds left in the period, but an Olivia DeFrancesco lay-up off an offensive rebound at the buzzer gave the Hornets a four-point lead after one period.
Lynchburg mounted a five-point lead 3:30 minutes into the second quarter as the Hornets amassed a 14-2 run after the Quakers (24-3) trailed by one 2:04 into the period. Lynchburg held a six-rebound advantage over the Quakers with the Hornets holding a 12-4 edge in second-chance points. The Quakers shot 18.8 percent from the field while the Hornets shot 38.5 percent on just five field goals.
The Quakers closed the gap on the Hornets in the third quarter, producing a 7-0 run over a 1:48 span in the period to cut the Hornets lead to four. A Jordyn Richardson put-back with 3:18 remaining in the period extended the run to 11-2 and cut the deficit to two points. After Amy Steller was fouled on a three-point attempt with 1:31 left, she sunk two of three free throws to erase the Lynchburg advantage and claim a one-point lead. An Essence Abraham jumper at the buzzer cut Lynchburg’s five-point lead down to three entering the final quarter.
The last basket of the third quarter sparked a 6-0 run that went into the fourth quarter that lasted 1:41 into the period, giving the Quakers a one-point lead. The run extended to 14-2 4:20 into the period as the Quakers’ lead extended to seven. Weatherly got to the line twice in the final minute as Guilford’s defense held to clinch the Quakers’ fifth league title.
Weatherly finished with 13 points on five-of-11 shooting while adding four steals. Steller led the Quakers in scoring with 15 points on four-of-nine shooting with two steals. Lauren Ramsey was the remaining Quakers player in double-figure scoring with 11 points on four-of-eight shooting while pulling down four rebounds and dishing three assists.
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Guilford men win third ODAC title
Guilford, champion of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, is making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and its first since 2010. The Quakers (23-5) will play Thomas More College (22-6) of Crestview Hills, Kentucky in Friday’s (March 3) first-round contest at Marietta College’s Ban Johnson Arena. Photo courtesy Guilford SportsSALEM, Va. – Freshmen Jaylen Gore and Kyler Gregory scored 13 points apiece in Guilford College’s 64-54 victory over Emory & Henry College in Sunday’s Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Men’s Basketball Tournament final.
Tournament Most Valuable Player Carson Long added 11 points and four blocks to help Guilford clinch its third ODAC title and its fourth NCAA Division III playoff berth. The Quakers (23-5) also won the league championship in 2008 and 2010.
P.J. Stephens’ jumper with 12:37 left in regulation broke the game’s fifth and final tie. It also triggered a decisive 8-0 run capped by a Gore jumper with 9:19 remaining. The spurt provided just enough cushion to hold off the Wasps’ (20-8) rally, sparked by Myles Turner, who scored all of his team-high 10 points in the final seven minutes.
Turner’s three-pointer with 1:33 left brought Emory & Henry to within 57-51 with 1:33 left. The Wasps fouled Guilford’s Zachary Houston three times in the final 1:42 and the senior made five of six free throws, twice in a one-and-one situation. He rebounded the one free throw he missed, which led to two free throws by Long with 62 seconds left that essentially iced the game. The Quakers ended the game by making nine of 12 free throws, while the Wasps missed their final three shots, all three-point attempts, in the final 75 seconds.
Gore, who joined Long and Dominique Henderson as Guilford’s all-tournament selections, made five-of-10 shots from the floor in the second-highest scoring game of his young career. Gregory came off the bench to make four-of-eight shots, including a three-pointer, in a career-high scoring effort. He made all four free throws and also grabbed four rebounds in 14 minutes. Houston finished with five points, a game-high nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Guilford won the battle of the boards for the 26th time in 28 games, 39-27, and scored 13 second-chance points off of 14 offensive rebounds.
