SALEM, VA-The Roanoke College women's basketball held Bridgewater College to just 32 percent from the field and led by as many as 10 points, but still managed to drop its seventh decision of the season, 61-56, to the Eagles on Tuesday night in Salem, VA. The Eagles remain atop the Old Dominion Athletic Conference standings with a 7-1 league record and move to 9-3 overall. Roanoke, which has not lost seven games this early in the season since 1981-82, falls to 4-7 overall and 3-4 in the ODAC. The Eagles also end a three-game slide against the Maroons, winning their first game in the series since the final regular season matchup of the 2001-02 season.
The Eagles made just 19 of their 58 shots from the field in the contest, but did far better at the free throw line, where the game was ultimately decided. Led by Katy Herr's perfect 6-for-6 performance at the line, the Eagles made 19 of their 20 foul shots, outscoring the Maroons in the column 19-6. On the opposite end of the spectrum was Roanoke, which made just six of its 14 foul shot attempts, a 42.9 shooting percentage.
Playing solid defense, the Maroons limited Bridgewater to just 10 first half field goals, jumping out to a 31-27 halftime lead. The Maroons actually led by as many as 10 points in the half, reaching that lead on four separate occasions. The final 10-point cushion, 31-21, came on a
Chandra Forrester (Wytheville, VA/Rural Retreat) layup with 2:44 to play in the opening 20 minutes. That would be Roanoke's final field goal of the half, however, with Bridgewater using a 6-0 run to cut the lead down to four at the break. The Maroons missed three shots and had three turnovers during the BC run which was capped by an Allison Nichols jumper.
Bridgewater's Jessica Young opened up the scoring in the second half, hitting one of two free throws to trim the lead to three, 31-28. Young's one miss would be Bridgewater's lone failure at the line in the entire game, with the team making all 12 of its final attempts. The Maroons were able to get their lead back up to as much as nine in the second half, that on a
Jennie Schafer (Centreville, VA/Centreville) layup that made the score 40-31 with 12:01 to play. Herr scored five of her team's next 16 points and six minutes later on a Marie Bolton jumper, the Eagles had tied the game at 47. The Maroons made just three field goals in the run that saw the Eagles tie the score.
After Bolton free throws gave BC a two-point lead, Lindsay Reynolds (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) tied the score at 49 with a layup and then four straight free throws gave RC a 53-49 lead, with 5:09 to go. One basket and five turnovers over the next 5:09 by the Maroons allowed the Eagles to walk away with the five-point win. BC scored six points from the line in the final 5:09 of the contest.
Forrester recorded a double-double for the Maroons, tying a career-high with 10 rebounds and adding 10 points. Before fouling out, Schafer went 7-for-9 from the field and finished with a team-high 15 points in just 18 minutes of action. Cindy McGraw (Lynchburg, VA/Liberty) came off the bench to score 13 points.
Herr led all scorers in the game with 18 points and also added four assists and five steals. Bolton scored 12 points for the Eagles, who are now just two wins away from tying their entire output from the 2002-03 season.
The Maroons face another ODAC rival on Thursday night as former RC assistant coach Richie Waggoner brings his Hornets of Lynchburg College to Roanoke's Bast Center. The Maroons and Hornets will get underway at 7:00pm in the C. Homer Bast Center.
Roanoke vs. Bridgewater Box Score
