Lady Builders fall to Lynchburg 69-53 in Great Ships Invitational final

Posted: Nov 17, 2007

NEWPORT NEWS, VA. - All-Tournament selection Kylie Lucas had 17 points and nine rebounds, while tournament MVP Dana Esposito had 12 points and seven assists as visiting Lynchburg College held off an early Apprentice School rally in the second half for a 69-53 win in the 2007 Great Ships Invitational title game.

In the consolation game, Southern Virginia University defeated Morrisville State 78-25.

Lynchburg never trailed in the contest, although the score was tied three times with the last being 8-all on a pair of Rahshann Lewter free throws with 16:12 left. The Hornets then went on a 12-2 run over the next 5:06 to take a 20-10 advantage on a free throw from Lucas with 11:06 remaining in the first half. They ended the first half with an 11-2 run over the last 4:46 to take a 40-22 lead into the locker room.

In the second half Apprentice School made one run early opening the half on a 15-3 run for a 43-37 Lynchburg lead following a Tyisha Battle jumper with 14:01 left. That was as close as Apprentice School was to get in the contest.

Tyechia Cooke was the leading scorer for Apprentice School with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Battle recorded her second straight double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to earn All-Tournament honors.

Apprentice School (1-1) will now travel to Florence, S.C. to face Francis Marion University next Saturday and then to Pembroke, N.C. to face UNC Pembroke next Sunday.

LYNCHBURG 69, APPRENTICE SCHOOL 53

LYNCHBURG (2-0): Darby 3-12 4-4 10, Esposito 4-11 3-4 12, Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Dahn 2-5 4-4 8, Lucas 8-15 1-2 17, Booker 0-2 1-2 1, Brewer 2-5 2-2 7, Snead 0-0 0-0 0, Terry 3-8 0-0 8, Hemerka 1-5 3-3 5, Garcia 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 23-68 19-23 69.

APPRENTICE SCHOOL (1-1): Jones 4-10 0-0 10, Williams 1-5 0-0 2, Lewter 2-8 2-2 6, Cooke 5-14 2-2 13, Battle 6-6 0-0 12, Morton 0-1 0-0 0, Ford 1-2 0-0 2, Gerald 2-5 0-0 4, Blow 0-4 2-2 2, Henderson 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 22-59 6-6 53.

Halftime: LC 40-22. 3-point goals: LC 4-18 (Darby 0-5, Esposito 1-7, Brewer 1-1, Terry 2-4, Hemerka 0-1); NNA 3-11 (Jones 2-4, Cooke 1-3, Gerald 0-1, Henderson 0-3). Rebounds: LC 46 (Dahn, Lucas 9); NNA 37 (Battle 12). Total fouls: LC 10, NNA 18. Fouled out: Lewter. Assists: LC 17 (Esposito 7); NNA 9 (Morton 3). Att.: 374.

All-Tournament Team

MVP: Dana Esposito (Lynchburg)

Kylie Lucas (Lynchburg)

Tyisha Battle (Apprentice)

Shanelle Pierce (Morrisville State)

Lynette Adams-Schroeder (Southern Va.)