VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Virginia Wesleyan University hit a late three-pointer in the closing seconds of Averett University women's basketball season finale, as they just barely bested the Cougars, 64-63 on Saturday afternoon.
The first quarter was a developing of one specific trend; neither Averett (8-16, 4-12 ODAC) and Virginia Wesleyan (14-11, 8-8 ODAC) could out-pace the other. By the end of the first period, the Marlins led by just a point, 14-13.
The Cougars did use a 10-4 run to advance out to a 23-18 lead, its largest of the game so far. But Virginia Wesleyan dug deep, and outscored Averett 10-6 for the remainder of the half. Two Bre Robinson free throw makes right before halftime had the home side trailing 29-28.
The third quarter was one of multiple lead changes, starting with Virginia Wesleyan early on. The two teams kept trading the advance back and forth, with the largest lead being only two points in the period. The Marlins narrowly outscored Averett 15-13, as production from the charity stripe aided Virginia Wesleyan. Despite that, the Cougars hung around, and trailed 43-42 with the last quarter up for grabs.
Averett went back into the lead with a
Kiera Perkins jumper, then Virginia Wesleyan went right back and went up once again. A near repeat of essentially every previous quarter, the two teams went down to the wire, not before the Cougars ripped of a 10-4 run to go up 55-50 with under six minutes to go.
The five-point lead remained up until 62-57, with Averett doing its best to stave off the Marlins. Various free throw makes from both sides brought the score to 63-59, until a Marlin layup cut the Cougars' lead to 63-61.
Averett's next possession came up empty, granting Virginia Wesleyan the chance at either a tie or the potential win. The Marlins performed the latter, as a sunken three-ball flipped the game on its head with a 64-63 advantage, and Averett had just three seconds for its last chance.
The Cougars came up just short on their last heave, and fell in the closing moments.
Perkins had the game of her life in the 2025-26 finale, with a season-high and career-high 19 points on 7-11 from the field, and six rebounds.
DaiShaundria Giggetts had 11 points, three steals and three boards.
Averett had a fine afternoon from the free-throw line, knocking down 27 of 36 shots at a 75-percent clip.
The Cougars finish this year's campaign with twice as many conference wins as the season prior, with four.
