NEWPORT NEWS, VA. - Junior Tonyae Smith scored a game-high 28 points and Ashley Hill added 20 off the bench as Virginia Union University held off several Apprentice School rallies to knock off the Lady Builders 70-58 on Tuesday night.

The Lady Builders held their only lead at 6-5 on a Jessica Henderson 3-pointer with 15:57 left in the half.  The Division II Lady Panthers then answered with a 9-2 run over the next 4:33 to take a 14-8 lead on a free throw by Yuvonna Stevens with 12:14 left. 

After cutting the lead to two, VUU reeled off a 16-5 spurt over 5:17 span for its largest lead of the first half at 32-19 on a pair of Smith free throws with 4:57 remaining.

Apprentice School scored 11 of the next 13 points to bring the deficit down to 34-30 on a Tamara Davis 3-pointer with 70 seconds left and eventually trailed 36-31 at half.

In the second half, the Lady Builders trimmed the deficit to 40-39 on a Davis layup with 16:25 remaining.  From there, the Lady Panthers reeled off a 13-2 run for a 53-41 lead on a Smith jumper with 9:14 left.

The Lady Builders had another run in them cutting that lead down to 55-51 on a Rahshann Lewter jumper with 4:43 left.  Virginia Union then put the hammer down scoring 13 of the next 15 points to seal the game taking a 68-53 lead on a pair of Ashley Hill free throws with 38 seconds left.

Davis was the leading scorer for the Lady Builders with 18 points, while Valleri West and Lewter chipped in 11 apiece.  Shameka Warren was the leading rebounder for Apprentice School with nine and she also blocked a season-high six shots.

The Apprentice School returns to action on Saturday hosting Division II Cheyney University in a 2 pm tipoff.

VIRGINIA UNION 70, APPRENTICE SCHOOL 58
VIRGINIA UNION (3-4): SMITH,Tonaey 12-23 4-6 28; HILL,Ashley 6-9 7-9 20; CHANDLER,Dashia 2-7 4-6 8; STEVENS,Yuvonna 3-6 1-2 7; TRAYNHAM,Samantha 1-6 3-4 5; ROBINSON,Latasia 1-1 0-0 2; BURNS,Alexandria 0-1 0-0 0; JONES,Alaura 0-1 0-0 0;
CLARKE,Tiffany 0-5 0-0 0; THOMAS,Rashida 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 19-27 70.
APPRENTICE SCHOOL (3-3): Tamara Davis 6-17 3-4 18; Rahshann Lewter 3-9 4-6 11; Valleri West 5-12 1-2 11; Shameka Warren 3-12 0-2 6; Upenda Morton 2-7 0-2 6; Jessica Henderson 1-6 2-4 5; Natarsha Whitworth 0-1 1-2 1; LaTorya Grimes 0-5 0-0 0. Totals
20-69 11-22 58.
Halftime--Virginia Union 36-31.  3-point goals--Virginia Union 1-6 (HILL,Ashley 1-2; CHANDLER,Dashia 0-3; JONES,Alaura 0-1), Apprentice School 7-23 (Tamara Davis 3-9; Upenda Morton 2-6; Rahshann Lewter 1-4; Jessica Henderson 1-4). Fouled out--Virginia Union-CLARKE,Tiffany, Apprentice School-Rahshann Lewter. Rebounds--Virginia Union 51 (STEVENS,Yuvonna 13), Apprentice School 45 (Shameka Warren 9). Assists--Virginia Union 14 (STEVENS,Yuvonna 4), Apprentice School 17 (Rahshann Lewter 8). Total fouls--Virginia Union 17, Apprentice School 19. Technical fouls--Virginia Union-None, Apprentice School-None. A-439