SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College women's basketball team rebounded from its loss on Friday night with a 60-55 win at home over Emory & Henry College in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action. The Maroons, who remain in sixth place in the ODAC standings, improve to 8-9 in league play and are now 9-12 overall. The Wasps fall to 12-9 overall and 9-7 in conference action but stay in the fifth spot in the conference rankings.
After falling behind 7-4 in the opening moments, the Maroons used a 13-3 run to open up a seven points lead, 17-10, with 10:18 left in the first half. Sophomore guard
Veronica Kelly (Westport, CT/Staples) scored four of those points, two coming on a fastbreak layup after she intercepted an E&H pass on the other end of the floor. The Wasps, however, counted with a run of their own, and with 6:49 to play in the half took a 21-19 lead. Nine of the E&H points came on three-point field goals, the final coming off of the hands of junior guard Amy Hensley. Tied twice over the next two minutes, the score went the Maroons way after they went on a 9-0 streak. Leading by two and with possession of the ball, the Maroons took advantage of three consecutive offensive rebounds, two by
Meghan McCue (Covington, VA/Alleghany) to convert a
Jennie Schafer (Centreville, VA/Centreville) layup to push the lead to four. After another Schafer bucket,
Chandra Forrester (Wytheville, VA/Rural Retreat) hit her second career three-pointer to give the hosts a 32-23 lead.
After holding a four-point, 35-31, halftime lead, the Maroons extended their margin out to as many as seven points in the first eight minutes of the second half. A game of runs saw E&H battle back into the contest and with 4:08 left in regulation take a 53-51 lead on a Danielle Moore three-pointer from the wing. Roanoke junior
Annie Roehm (Weston, CT/Weston) answered back for the Maroons, however, banking in a three-pointer of her own from the left wing. That shot gave the Maroons a 54-53 edge. They would not trail again. The Wasps misfired on four three-pointers on their next five possessions and in the meantime Schafer was able to put RC up by three. The Maroons made four of their five free throw attempts in the final 29 seconds to cap the victory.
Schafer finished the game with 18 points, two off of her career-high. The junior went 7-for-12 from the field and also blocked three shots in the contest.
Kayce Smith (Chattanooga, TN/The Baylor School) scored seven points, but led all Maroons with nine rebounds. She also added two steals. Kelly did not miss a shot from the field and tallied 12 points in the win.
Emory & Henry leading scorer Brooke Barker was again atop the Wasps' scoring list, getting 18 points in the loss. Senior Erin Connelly had seven points but led all rebounders with 14.
The Maroons take the next week off before returning to action on Saturday, February 14th in a 4:00pm contest against ODAC rival Virginia Wesleyan College. The game is part of a men's/women's double-header and will be preceded by the Roanoke men hosting Guilford College at 2:00pm.
Roanoke vs. Emory & Henry Box Score
