Hollins at Lynchburg | Wednesday, December 3, 2025 | Lynchburg, Va.
 
The Basics 
Score: Hollins 70, Univ. of Lynchburg 67 (OT)
Records: Hollins 6-1 / 1-0 ODAC | Hornets 5-2 / 0-2 ODAC

The Lead: Wednesday night marked the opening of Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play for the Hollins basketball team. HU made the trip to Lynchburg to face the Hornets in their first taste of conference action this season. The home team jumped out to an early advantage only to see Hollins rally to tie the game right before halftime. A 3-pointer by Lynchburg would see the Hornets in front, 34-31, at the break. The second half would go back and forth. As the seconds ticked down, Hollins had a chance to win it in regulation, but the shot was off the mark, and the game went to an extra period. Hollins led by a single point before draining a three-pointer to seize control late in overtime. In a game that featured 16 ties, nine lead changes, and an additional 5:00 to decide, Hollins came home with an ODAC road win, 70-67.

Highlights 

• Lynchburg would lead by as many as six before Hollins used an 8-2 run, culminated by a three-pointer by Ariana Gutierrez to knot the score at 15-15. The Hornets netted the final three points to take an 18-15 lead into the second quarter.
• An Erin Allen free throw started the second period scoring but was answered by a 7-0 surge to give the Hornets a nine-point edge. The Green and Gold chipped away, and a Gracie Huffard jump shot followed by a layup by Noelani Carter brought Hollins all the way back to tie the game at 25 apiece. Lynchburg retake the lead until the waning seconds when Sarah Morales tied the game at 31-31 only to see a late three ball give the home team a 34-31 lead at the half.
• The game would be tied three times to start the third but Hollins could not get back in front until a Morales jump shot allowed Hollins her second lead of the game, 40-38. Lynchburg answered just before the media timeout to give the game its' ninth tie of the evening. The final five minutes would be a parade to the free throw line by both teams, the teams combined to go 10-12 from the stripe but after a layup before the buzzer, Lynchburg was back on top, 51-46.
• Back-to-back buckets by Huffard and Zaria Holden got Hollins back to within a single possession to start the final 10-minutes of play. Huffard scored again followed by two free throws by Morales and HU had come back one again. 13 ties and seven lead changes had taken place when Holden nailed a three-pointer to put HU in front 58-57 with a little over three minutes left on the clock.
• A minute later, Allen scored on a driving baseline layup and was fouled. She missed the free throw, but an offensive rebound gave the ball to Hollins with 2:00 left to play. After a stop, a three-point play gave the Hornets the lead, but missed free throws gave Hollins one last chance in the closing seconds. Morales hit a floater to cut the deficit to one and forced a Lynchburg timeout. Huffard altered a Hornet shot and was fouled securing the rebound. The sophomore hit one of two to tie the game, 64-64, with just 15.9 seconds on the clock. After another defensive stop, Morales got a contested 16-footer at the buzzer that missed the mark and the game went to overtime.
• Regulation would see 16 ties and eight lead changes. Both teams showed signs of fatigue, and no one scored until the 1:15 mark when Jacorra Russell was the recipient of a fast break assist from Morales. Leading by one, Morales hit a three-pointer with 15.5 seconds to go to give Hollins a 69-65 advantage. After a pair of Lynchburg free throws, Carter hit one of two to put HU up by three and that would be enough as the last second shot by the Hornets missed the mark and Hollins picked up the ODAC road win, 70-67.
• Morales finished with 16 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Huffard added 13 points and a game high 14 rebounds while Holden and Carter each scored 10. Carter had five steals with Huffard adding four takeaways to lead a Hollins defense that didn't allow a field goal in the overtime period.

Up Next: Randolph-Macon comes to Hollins on Saturday as HU plays her first home ODAC contest. The opening tip with the Yellow Jackets is scheduled to start at 2:00pm.