SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College women's basketball team ran its winning streak to seven consecutive games with a 57-49 win over Lynchburg College on Sunday afternoon in Salem, VA. The Maroons improve to 10-4 overall on the season and 6-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Hornets drop their fourth consecutive game and now are 6-8 overall and 3-6 in ODAC play. The Maroons' 10 wins matches it total from the entire 2003-04 season. The seven-game winning streak is the team's longest since the 1998-99 season.
The Maroons held a nine-point edge at the break and pushed that lead up to as many as 12 points in the second half. Trailing by 11 points in the second half, the Hornets made a comeback, cutting the Maroon lead to just three points, 50-47, with 8:13 to play in the game. Lynchburg's Mandi Campbell was the spark to that comeback. Campbell hit back-to-back three-pointers and then had a behind-the-back assist to Jessie Bridge on a fastbreak to make the score 50-47. From there, however, it was the Roanoke defense that took over. After the Lynchburg fastbreak layup with 8:13 to play, the visitors did not have another field goal the rest of the way. The lone points the Maroons allowed in that time came from two free throws with 1:11 left in the contest.
The Maroons never trailed in Sunday's contest.
Cindy McGraw (Lynchburg, VA/EC Glass) scored the first five points for the Maroons, two on a layup and three on an old-fashioned three-point play. In fact, McGraw scored 10 of Roanoke's first 12 points. The Hornets closed to within one point 7-6 with 16:28 to go in the first, but that would be as close as they would get the rest of the way. McGraw converted her third layup of the game and then drained a three-pointer to give RC a 12-9 lead. With 4:46 left in the first 20 minutes of play, Jennie Schafer (Centreville, VA/Centreville) scored on a layup to give Roanoke a 13-point lead, 32-19, its largest of the game.
After scoring 10 of the first 12 points of the game for the Maroons, McGraw scored just two the rest of the way, but those came on a layup in the second half that helped the Maroons build more of a cushion, making the score 54-47.
Chandra Forrester (Wytheville, VA/Rural Retreat) scored seven points and led all players with 11 rebounds. In all, 10 players scored for the Maroons, including
Lindsay Reynolds (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) who scored seven and also added two assists and a steal.
Kayce Smith (Chattanooga, TN/The Baylor School) scored six points, dished out five assists, and added six rebounds.
The Hornets were led by Lacey Currle's 12 points, with Campbell adding 10 off the bench. The Hornets made just nine of their 24 shots from the field in the second half, missing their final eight attempts.
Roanoke takes almost a week off before returning to game action on Saturday, January 22nd in a home game against the Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon College. That game begins at 4:30pm. The Maroons will then host Virginia Wesleyan at 4:30pm on Sunday.
Roanoke vs. Lynchburg Box Score
