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DANVILLE, Va — Third-seeded Averett used a late first-half run to fuel a 61-45 victory over sixth-seeded Mary Baldwin College in the USA South Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday at the Grant Center.

Averett (17-8) advances to the conference semifinals for only the fourth time in school history and the first time since 2002. The Cougars will face second-seeded Ferrum College in Friday's 2 p.m. semifinal matchup. Ferrum edged seventh-seeded Meredith College 92-85 on Tuesday. Top seed Christopher Newport University and fourth-seeded Methodist University also advanced to the semifinals.

Averett and Mary Baldwin (10-14) were in a tight battle early until the Cougars used a 10-0 run in the final five minutes of the half to take a 27-17 lead into the locker rooms.

In the second half, Averett extended that lead to as much as 23 points and Mary Baldwin never closed the gap to less than 16.

The Cougars got a pair of double-doubles from junior Ashley Washington and sophomore Kyana Smith. Washington had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Smith added 10 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Freshman Mette Scheiman led Averett with 16 points.

Averett shot nearly 45 percent from the floor while holding the Fighting Squirrels to just 27.6 percent shooting.

Denise Johnson led Mary Baldwin with 12 points and Kara Hawkins added 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Tuesday's win gave the Cougars a three-game sweep against Mary Baldwin this season.

The conference tournament win was Averett's first under third-year head coach Katrina Williams and only the program's fourth postseason victory overall. Averett also advanced to the conference semifinals in 1996, 1997 and 2002.