VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Virginia Wesleyan recovered from a six-point deficit (57-51) with 46 seconds remaining to produce a 72-64 overtime victory over Washington and Lee in ODAC women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at the Batten Center.
 
The Generals (9-11, 5-7) never trailed in regulation after jumping out to a 5-0 lead to start the game.  The Marlins (12-9, 7-5) tied the game at 12-12 with 8:49 left in the second period, but W&L wrestled the lead back with 7:26 left in the first half on a three-pointer by first-year guard Taylor Casey (Brentwood, Tenn. / Franklin Road Academy).
 
W&L led by four points (26-22) at halftime and its advantage grew to as many as 13 points (41-28) with 2:29 left in the third period following a pair of free throws from junior guard Emily Perszyk (Greendale, Wis. / Greendale).
 
VWC chipped away at the W&L lead, cutting it to single digits entering the fourth period, but could get no closer than three points before the run that tied the game late in regulation.  Junior guard Andrea Ferrero (Ridgefield, Conn. / Ridgefield) knocked down a pair of free throws with 46 seconds left to give the Generals a 57-51 lead.  Senior forward Alexis Platt made a layup 12 seconds later for VWC and the Generals missed a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left.  W&L fouled senior guard Crystal Strother on a three-point attempt with 21 seconds left and she made good on two free throws to make it a 57-55 game.  After sophomore guard Catherine Hoy (Irvington, N.Y. / Irvington) drilled two free throws for a four-point lead (59-55), sophomore guard Jayla Harris canned a three-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to pull the Marlins within a single point (59-58).  Hoy went to the line again with 15 seconds left, hitting 1-of-2 from the stripe to give W&L a two-point edge (60-58).  Harris then drew a foul with 11 seconds left, making both to tie the game for the first time since the first quarter.
 
The Blue & White had a chance to win the game in regulation, but junior forward Ailyn Kelly's (Clifton, Va. / Centreville) three-pointer with two seconds left was wide of the mark sending the game into overtime.
 
In the extra session, VWC took its first lead of the game just 33 seconds in as sophomore forward Jaelyn Washington split a pair of free throws.  A Ferrero three-pointer and free throw from Kelly gave W&L a 64-61 lead at the 3:07 mark, but the Marlins closed the game with the final 11 points for an eight-point win.
 
The Generals finished with 27 turnovers for the game, including three in the final 44 seconds of overtime that allowed the Marlins to pull away.  W&L also shot just 24-of-40 (.600) from the charity stripe, missing five of six free throws in the extra session.
 
Perszyk led the Generals with 25 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, despite missing the entire overtime period.  She went 11-of-12 from the foul line, but turned it over 11 times.  Ferrero finished with a career-high 15 points and tied her career-best with 10 rebounds, while junior forward Emma Redding (Allentown, Pa. / Central Catholic) notched six points, 11 rebounds and six blocks.  As a team, W&L out-rebounded the Marlins, 54-36.
 
Virginia Wesleyan was led by Harris, who tallied 35 points on 13-of-13 shooting from the foul line. Platt posted 11 points and eight boards, while Strother had 10 points.  VWC shot just 27.4 percent (17-62) from the field, but committed just 12 turnovers and drilled 31-of-40 (.775) free throws.
 
Washington and Lee returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Shenandoah for a 7:00 pm contest.

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