SALEM, VA-The Roanoke College women's basketball team survived a scare from Washington & Lee University on Saturday afternoon in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference action, pulling out a 67-65 overtime victory in Salem, VA. The Maroons, who improve to 20-0 all-time against the Generals, improve to 2-5 overall on the season and 1-2 in the ODAC. Washington & Lee, which has already improved on it's win total from the entire 2002-03 season, falls to 4-4 overall and 2-2 against conference opponents. This was also the second RC-W&L contest, in the past five, that has gone to extra periods.
After falling behind by as many as 15 points in the second half, Washington & Lee switched to a 2-3 zone and as a result made a comeback by limiting the Maroons to just eight points over the final 10 minutes of regulation. W&L's Sarah Michaels hit one of two free throws with just 9.8 seconds left in the second half to tie the score at 54 and send the game to OT.
In the overtime period, the Generals took a four-point lead, 63-59, with 1:36 remaining. After Roanoke's
Chandra Forrester (Wytheville, VA/Rural Retreat) hit two free throws to trim the lead to two, W&L got a layup from Sarah Michaels to again go up by four, that with 1:09 left. Forrester brought the Maroons back to within two with a layup of her own, that with 54 seconds to play. On the ensuing W&L inbounds, RC freshman
Cindy McGraw (Lynchburg, VA/EC Glass) got one of her two steals and made a driving layup to tie the score at 65. A missed W&L shot was followed by two more free throws from Forrester to give the Maroons the ultimate two-point cushion. The Generals had a shot at the buzzer fall just short, a shot that would have tied the ball game.
In the second half, the Maroons took a 15-point lead, 46-31, with 10:07 to play, but let the Generals use a 23-8 run to end regulation to tie the score. Freshman Jessica Hunsinger scored seven of her 11 points in that run, which also saw W&L score the final nine points of the second half in the final 2:57. Louisa Feve hit a three-pointer in that 9-0 run, while Michaels had a field goal and the game-tying free throw. As a team, the Maroons went just 10-of-30 from the field in the second half, as did W&L. The Generals, however, outscored RC 9-4 at the free throw line.
The game went into the break with the Maroons clutching to a three-point lead, 27-24. The Generals held their largest lead of the game in the first half, owning a 15-10 lead just eight minutes into the game.
Lindsay Reynolds (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) sent the Maroons into the break with the three-point lead with a three-pointer with 47 seconds to play.
Forrester finished the game with a career-high 16 points, helping her own cause by making all six of her free throw attempts. She also had three assists and two blocks, both numbers tying career-highs.
Jennie Schafer (Centreville, VA/Centreville) finished the contest with 15 points, getting 12 of those in the second half. Starting point guard
Veronica Kelly (Westport, CT/Staples) led all Maroons with a career-best nine boards.
Michaels led all scorers, finishing the contest with 28 points. She also added nine rebounds and a steal. Hunsinger scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds, 12 off the defensive glass. Louisa Feve scored 16 points and also had a game-best six assists.
The Maroons are back in action on Sunday afternoon as they close out the regular season series with the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University. The game, which begins at 4:00pm in Harrisonburg, VA, is a rematch of a December 2nd contest that saw EMU leave Salem with a 61-54 victory.
Roanoke vs. Washington & Lee Box Score
