College Women’s Basketball Final – Guilford 52, Shenandoah 47

WINCHESTER, Va. – Guilford College’s Anais Weatherly (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) led all scorers with 14 points as the Quakers claimed a Wednesday afternoon Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) victory over Shenandoah University, 52-47.

Neither side claimed a lead larger than three points until the Quakers (8-1, 2-0 ODAC) claimed a five-point lead with 2:36 remaining in the period. Guilford saw their lead grow to seven down the stretch of the quarter with their lead resting at five points thanks to a Lauren Ramsey (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) buzzer-beater to conclude the period. After both sides traded a pair of baskets in the first portion of the second quarter, Shenandoah (3-7, 0-2 ODAC) produced a 12-2 run thanks to two Kirstyn Arcata three-pointers on back-to-back attempts to give the Hornets a four-point advantage with two minutes left in the period. Weatherly rallied to claim Guilford’s final six points of the period to even the score at halftime.

Guilford dominated most of the third quarter, boasting a 14-4 run on the Hornets for almost the entire period with Shenandoah’s Mia Moore spoiling the period-long run with a jumper in the final second of the frame. The Quakers held the Hornets to just three field goals in the period where Shenandoah committed seven turnovers while Guilford only produced three miscues. The Quakers’ defense continued to frustrate the Hornets in the fourth quarter as Shenandoah went a 3:25 scoring drought after both sides traded a basket a piece to open the period. The Quakers held the Hornets to three field goals in the frame for the second consecutive quarter as Guilford produced another Shenandoah dry spell where the Hornets were held without a field goal for a 4:57 stretch in the latter stages of the quarter. The Hornets remained alive in the game thanks to shooting six-of-six from the foul line in the period while producing a late 6-0 run in a 2:32 stretch late in the period, but a Weatherly jumper with twenty seconds left sealed the victory for the Quakers.

Weatherly added seven rebounds and five steals to her 14-point effort where she shot seven-of-12 from the field. The depth of the Quakers’ bench complemented Guilford’s offense with the Quakers’ reserves totaling 20 points as a unit, led by Ymani Breedlove’s eight points in 14 minutes. The freshman added seven rebounds, five on the offensive glass.

Arcata led Shenandoah with 12 points while Erin French led the Hornets on the glass with 12 rebounds while scoring six points and stealing four passes.

Guilford shot 35.3 percent for the contest, including 41.2 percent second-quarter shooting. Shenandoah shot 34 percent for the game and also shot efficiently in the second-quarter, shooting 46.7 percent. Shenandoah shot four-of-17 from beyond the arc while the Quakers shot 0-of-12 from three-point range.

Guilford dominated on the glass, out-rebounding the Hornets, 48-31, on the power of 24 offensive rebounds. The Quakers claimed the advantage on second-chance points, 18-9. The Quakers forced 23 turnovers and produced 20 points off of Shenandoah miscues. The Hornets forced 19 turnovers and produced 12 points off Guilford miscues.

The Quakers continue on the road Sunday, traveling to Virginia Wesleyan College for a 3 p.m. ODAC contest.