ROANOKE, VA-The Roanoke College women's basketball team scored its final nine points of the game from the free throw line to hold off host Hollins University, 58-56, on Friday evening in Roanoke, VA in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference action. The Maroons improve to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in the ODAC. Hollins, which beat Roanoke last season on its home floor, falls to 0-4 in league play and now has just one victory in eight overall games.
The Maroons failed to score a basket from the field in the final 5:38 of the contest, but for the most part took advantage of the free throw opportunities Hollins afforded them.
Emily Smith (Hampton, VA/Hampton) scored a second-chance layup with 5:38 to go in the contest to give the Maroons a 49-42 lead.
Lindsay Reynolds (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) then hit four straight free throws to give the Maroons a 53-44 lead. Several turnovers down the stretch allowed Hollins to cut into the nine-point lead. An Amanda Kite three-point field goal with just 35 second left brought Hollins to within just one point, 56-55.
Veronica Kelly (Westport, CT/Staples) made two free throws in the contest with 22 ticks remaining to push the lead to three.
After Hollins' Kahla Garris made a foul shot with six seconds to go, to make the score 58-56, the hosts collected the rebound of the miss of a second shot. Off the rebound, Hollins had a shot, that would have tied the score at 58, miss short with the Maroons getting the rebound as time expired. Moments prior to Garris' free throws, Hollins' Brandi Cochran had a potential game-tying three-pointer carom off the rim.
The Maroons went 24-for-34 from the free throw line in the contest, 13 coming in the second half of play when they managed just seven field goals. Two of those field goals were three-pointers off of Reynolds' hands, both coming in the first four minutes of the half, helping the Maroons build a 37-28 lead. Reynolds finished the game with a team-high 12 points, while Kelly added 11 points, all but four coming from the line.
Jennie Schafer (Centreville, VA/Centreville) scored nine points and senior
Meghan McCue (Covington, VA/Alleghany) five.
Roanoke takes the rest of the weekend off before returning to game action on Tuesday night in a home league contest against the Eagles of Bridgewater College. This will be the first meeting between the two programs since the Maroons knocked BC out of the 2003 ODAC tournament in the semifinal round. The game in Salem, VA will begin at 7:00pm.
