SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College women's basketball team defeated Washington & Lee University 66-54 on Tuesday evening in Salem, VA to improve to 7-4 on the season and 3-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The victory was Roanoke's fourth in row, the first time the Maroons have had such a streak since early in the 2001-02 season. Washington & Lee has its four-game winning streak snapped and is now 7-5 on the year and 4-4 in conference action. The Maroons have won all 22 meetings in this series which dates back to the 1994-95 season.

With nine minutes left to play in regulation, freshman Erin Hanson (Blacksburg, VA/Blacksburg) hit two free throws to give the Maroons a 12-point lead, 47-35. The Generals, however, used a 14-2 run to even the score at 49 with 3:47 remaining in the contest. W&L freshman forward Kristen Krouchick scored the final six points of the W&L run, hitting two outside jumpers and a layup. Louisa Feve also had four points during the run. Roanoke was 0-for-6 from the field in the run, scoring its only two points from the free throw line.

From that point, however, the Maroons regained control of the contest, outscoring the Generals 17-5 the rest of the way. Senior Jennie Schafer (Centreville, VA/Centreville) converted a conventional three-point play and then scored again in the paint to give the Maroons a 54-49 lead with 2:23 left. After the second of Schafer's layups, the Maroons did not make another field goal, but made 12 of 14 free throws down the stretch to extended their lead back to double-digits. Junior Veronica Kelly (Westport, CT/Staples) went 6-for-6 from the line over the final 1:03 of the game while Hanson made all four of her shots.

In that final Maroon run, the Maroon defense also played a large role, forcing the Generals to commit four turnovers, two of which were direct results of Hanson steals. Krouchick was the only player that was able to generate offense for the Generals in the final moments of the game, converting a three-point play and then hitting a layup off of an inbounds pass.

The Maroons began the game by making six of their first eight shots and just five minutes into the game held a 12-3 lead. Sophomore Brittany Johnson (Simsbury, CT/West Simsbury) and senior Emily Smith (Hampton, VA/Hampton) then scored eight straight points for the Maroons, all in the paint, the final two giving RC an 18-10 lead with 11:37 to play in the first. That eight-point lead got out to 11, 23-12, with 8:12 to play, but from there the Maroons went cold. The hosts scored just five points over the final 8:12 of the half, allowing W&L at one point to close to within two, 23-21. Hanson then scored the final five points of the half, including a three-pointer with 52 seconds to play to give the Maroons a 28-21 halftime lead.

Hanson finished the day with a game-high 19 points, the fourth consecutive game in which she has reached double-digits in the scoring column. The freshman also had five rebounds, three assists, and five steals. Schafer finished the day with 11 points, including the five clutch points late in the second half. Kelly finished the game with six points, all six coming on the late free throws.

Feve scored a game-high 17 points for the Generals, nine in the first half when she hit the first three three-pointers she took. Krouchick matched Feve's 17-point output, making 8-of-12 from the floor and getting all but two points in the second half of play. Coming off of a career-high 26-point effort against Hollins, sophomore Jessica Hunsinger was held to just six points on 3-of-8 shooting.
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Roanoke is back in action on Thursday in a road game against the Quakers of Guilford College. The game in Greensboro, NC begins at 7:00pm. The Maroons then return home in a 4:00pm game against Lynchburg College on Sunday.

Roanoke vs. Washington & Lee Box Score