WINCHESTER, Va. – Guilford College’s Heaven Walters (Elkin, N.C./Starmount) notched her second double-double of the season as the Quakers quickly erased a 18-point second quarter deficit, claiming a Saturday afternoon Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) victory over Shenandoah University, 94-61.
Walters posted 19 points while shooting nine-of-ten from the field, sinking her first eight shots. 13 of her 19 points came in the first half. She also pulled down 11 rebounds. Anais Weatherly (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) scored 17 points on eight-of-14 shooting while amassing six rebounds and seven assists. Essence Abraham (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley) came off the bench to produce a season-high 13 points on five-of-nine shooting, three-of-four from three-point range.
Shenandoah held a 7-6 lead three minutes into the first quarter, but the Hornets used the three-point shot to bolster their first-quarter offense, posting five three-pointers in the period. Shenandoah produced a 22-9 run in the final seven minutes of the period while posting their largest first-quarter lead of 17 points with 16 seconds left in the quarter as the Hornets shot 11-of-15 in the quarter while Guilford shot six-of-11.
Shenandoah (4-13, 1-7 ODAC) reached their largest lead of 18 points 3:35 into the second quarter, but the Quakers (14-2, 7-1 ODAC) countered with an 11-0 run for the next 3:56 to chop the lead to seven. The Quakers enlarged the run to 21-3 to close the quarter with Walters scoring six of the last 12 points as the Quakers and Hornets entered the locker room tied. Guilford shot a blistering 61.1 percent for the period while the Hornets shot 33.3 percent.
The Quakers shot 12-of-15 (80 percent) in the third quarter, compared to Shenandoah’s 14.3 percent on just two field goals as Guilford took full control. The Quakers amassed a 21-2 run over a 6:18 stretch of the period as Guilford’s lead quickly ballooned.
The Quakers opened the first 4:10 of the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run to enlarge their lead, which grew as large as 38 points with 4:33 left in the period. The Quakers shot 58.8 percent for the quarter while Shenandoah posted a 42.9 percent effort in the period. Guilford also crushed the Hornets on the boards, 13-1, in the fourth quarter alone on the way to victory.
Shenandoah’s Kirstyn Arcata led the Hornets with 12 points while Sarah Donley and Jordan Sondrol came off the bench to post 11 points a piece.
The Quakers flattened Shenandoah on the glass, 40-16, with the Hornets only posting nine defensive rebounds. Guilford dominated the paint, 54-12, and held a strong edge in second-chance points, 22-9.
Guilford finished the contest shooting 63.9 percent compared to Shenandoah’s 41.8 percent. The Quakers shot 7-of-12 from three-point range (58.3 percent) while Shenandoah shot 11-of-19 (57.4 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Quakers return home Wednesday to face Emory & Henry College in a key 7 p.m. ODAC contest.