FERRUM, Virginia -- The Ferrum College women's basketball team beat Virginia Wesleyan University at home, winning 76-64 this afternoon at Swartz Gym. It was the Panthers' first Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) win this season.

RECORDS
Ferrum (2-6, 1-2 ODAC)
Virginia Wesleyan (2-6, 0-3 ODAC)

THE BASICS
Virginia Wesleyan held the early 4-0 lead, but the Panthers answered with a 15-5 run to grab a 15-9 lead on a Cameron Hawkins free throw at 2:22 of the first quarter. The Marlins closed the quarter with a 10-0 run to take a 19-15 lead after one.

Ferrum outscored Virginia Wesleyan 20-11 in the second quarter to take a 35-30 lead into the locker room. The Panthers built 37-32 advantage on Hawkins' layup early in the third quarter, but the Marlins fought back to take a 44-43 lead on Jada Norman's jumper with 3:21 left. The lead changed hands three more times in the third before the quarter ended with the two teams deadlocked at 52-52.

The Panthers used an 8-0 run to open the fourth quarter to take a 60-52 lead and never trailed from there. Hawkins opened the quarter with a jumper, Kayla Cabiness dropped a three-pointer, Aisha Martin made a free throw, then Cabiness converted two freebies for the eight-point advantage with 7:02 left to play.

Cabiness closed with a game-high 23 points, 15 of which she scored in the second half, dished out eight assists and pulled down five rebounds.

KEY STATS
Ferrum: Cabiness 23 pts; Jacy Marvin 19 pts, 4 3FG; Martin 15 pts; Hawkins 11 pts, 6 reb
Virginia Wesleyan: Celeste Rucker 16 pts, 9 reb; Jessica Jennings 9 pts

BEHIND THE WHISTLE
"Great win this afternoon, I am extremely happy for our players. We have had a couple really good days of practice and I'm glad to see it carry over to the game. There are definitely things we need to clean up and improve on, but today was a step in the right direction. I was proud of how we competed on the defensive end of the floor and offensively we shared the ball. That's what we need moving forward." --Head Coach Bryan Harvey

NEXT UP
Harvey's squad will be back in action Wednesday, December 8, at Eastern Mennonite University. The ODAC game tips off at 7:00 p.m. in Harrisonburg, Virginia.