VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Shenandoah University women's basketball team is headed to the Salem Civic Center for the first time in three seasons after upsetting sixth-seeded Virginia Wesleyan, 82-73, Tuesday night in the opening round of the ODAC Tournament.
No. 11 Shenandoah (6-20) advances to Friday's 8 p.m. quarterfinal round game versus third-seeded Emory and Henry thanks to its second-ever win over Virginia Wesleyan (13-13).
The two teams traded the lead eight times and were tied on four occasions before SU took the lead for good with a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter.
Kirstyn Arcata, who had a game-high 28 points, got that run started by tying the game with a 3-pointer 42 seconds into the stanza.
The junior followed with a pair of free throws at 6:23, and after consecutive Mia Moore jumpers, the Hornets had a 64-58 lead with 4:57 remaining.
VWC would get no closer than four points the rest of the way.
A 7-2 Shenandoah run from the 2:41 to 1:08 marks extended the lead out to nine points and effectively sealed the win.
The two teams split the final 18 points of the game in the last 58 seconds with all of the Hornets points coming from the free throw line.
Shenandoah was 26 of 35 (74 percent) from the charity stripe in the game.
"We have worked hard all year and this team deserved this win," head coach Melissa Smeltzer-Kraft said.
"We put 40 minutes together and all 15 of us were locked in. I am so proud of this group and the fact that we are headed to Salem!"
In addition to Arcata's 28, French had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Arcata's seven 3-pointers ties the school record and her 70 percent shooting percentage from behind the arc is a new school record.
Notes: This is the third time in five seasons of ODAC play that the women's basketball program has advanced to the quarterfinals. In 2013, as a sixth-seed, the Hornets defeated Hollins in the opening round before falling to No. 3 Virginia Wesleyan in the quarters. In 2014, SU was the eighth seed and defeated No. 9 Randolph before dropping a one-point decision to top-seeded Eastern Mennonite in the quarterfinals.
Friday's game versus Emory and Henry is the third matchup of the season for the Hornets and Wasps. E&H swept the season series, winning 103-43 in Emory on December 3 and 64-40 in Winchester on January 4.
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