SALEM, Va. – Lynchburg College’s Caroline Naumann totaled 15 points and 18 rebounds as the Hornets claimed the league title in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Finals over Guilford College, 62-55.
The second-seeded Quakers (21-5) jumped to an early 8-0 lead and held Lynchburg scoreless for the first 3:43 of the contest. The top-seeded Hornets (24-4) countered with an 8-2 run to close the lead to two points before Guilford closed the first quarter with a six-point advantage. Guilford opened the second period with their largest lead, nine points, but Lynchburg quickly cut the lead with a 9-1 run to shrink the lead to one point with 6:12 remaining in the period. The Hornets took the lead as Lynchburg held the Quakers without a field goal for a 6:14 stretch in the period after the quarter’s first basket. A Jordyn Brown lay-up with 2:46 left in the period reclaimed the lead for the Quakers as Guilford entered halftime with a one-point lead.
Lynchburg produced an 8-0 run over a 2:18 stretch early in the third quarter to gain the advantage, which reached as large as six points in the period. Guilford cut the Lynchburg advantage to one point with 1:07 remaining in the period as Anais Weatherly (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) bolstered Guilford’s offense in the period with seven points. Lynchburg pulled away in the fourth quarter, continuing on an 11-0 run that began in the closing stages of the third quarter to extend their largest lead to 11 points. Guilford cut the Hornets’ lead to six points three times in the period, but Lynchburg held on to claim victory.
Weatherly led the Quakers with 13 points on six-of-17 shooting with eight rebounds. Heaven Walters was the remaining Quakers’ player in double-figure scoring with ten points on five-of-eight shooting. Weatherly and Walters collected All-Tournament honors for the Quakers.
Naumann’s 15 points led all scorers and came on seven-of-11 shooting while Chaney Forbush added 14 points on five-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds.
The Quakers shot 38.6 percent for the game, including 42.3 percent in the first half. Lynchburg shot 38.7 percent for the game, including a 48-percent effort in the second half. Guilford shot five-of-21 from beyond the arc while Lynchburg shot five-of-20.
Lynchburg out-rebounded the Quakers, 45-34, thanks to 17 offensive rebounds from Lynchburg, but the Hornets could only produce a 10-7 advantage on second-chance points. Lynchburg’s inside offense held a small advantage in the paint, 30-26, but the Quakers held the edge in points off turnovers, 18-12, as Lynchburg committed 13 miscues to Guilford’s 12.
The regionally-ranked Quakers await their fate in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Division III Selection Show takes place tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.