SALEM, Va.—Morgan King’s career-high 27 points led fourth-seeded Guilford College to their third consecutive Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship in their 61-54 victory over the top-seed Eastern Mennonite University.
King scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first half. King propelled the Quakers to an early lead, scoring the Quakers’ first eight points on her first four shots.
The first half featured three ties and three lead changes with the Quakers’ largest lead being capped at six. The Royals’ largest lead came with 9:27 left in the half with a pair of Bianca Ygarza free throws to increase the lead by four, 19-15. The Quakers would reclaim the lead at the 4:22 mark on a Lila Scott layup before King scored the Quakers’ final five points to close out the half with the lead, 32-30.
After Eastern Mennonite tied the game 4:28 into the second half, 39-39, the Quakers’ would reclaim the lead midway through the second half, capping a 10-2 run with a King jumper at the 10:30 mark to increase their lead, 49-41, for their largest lead of the game. Eastern Mennonite would close in on the Quaker lead when Guilford went 3:25 without a point to cut their deficit to four, 49-45, after a Keyla Baltimore layup. Gabby Oglesby (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds) and Baltimore would trade layups to keep the Quaker lead at four with 5:52 left. The Quaker defense would then hold the Royals without a field goal for the next 5:15 to secure the win.
Oglesby added 14 points, six rebounds, and four blocks. Kayla Adams (Rural Hall, N.C./North Forsyth) added nine points and tied King for the team lead in rebounds with seven.
The Quaker defense took advantage of 17 Royal turnovers, converting into 20 Guilford points. 11 of the 17 Royals’ turnovers came in the second half. Guilford held the Royals to 30.8% shooting, including 26.7% in the second half. Guilford shot 43.9% for the contest, including 46.7% in the first half.
Guilford held the advantage in points in the paint, 24-18, and second chance points, 13-5. Eastern Mennonite took a narrow rebounding advantage, 37-35, thanks to 14 dead-ball rebounds. The Royals held the advantage in bench points, 20-6.
The Quakers (21-6) await the winner of the final semifinal game between the second-seed Randolph-Macon College and third-seed Lynchburg College in a matchup for the ODAC Championship, taking place tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va.
1 2 Total
Guilford............ 32 29 - 61
Eastern Mennonite... 30 24 - 54