SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College women's basketball team held Eastern Mennonite University to 11 field goals, just four in the second half, in a 49-33 Maroon victory on Tuesday night in Salem, VA. The Maroons, who have now won nine of their past 10 contests, improve to 12-5 on the season and 8-5 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Royals, who entered the contest in second place in the ODAC standings, fall to 12-5 overall and 8-4 against ODAC opponents.
Neither team was able to generate much offense in either half, but the Maroons took a 24-19 lead into halftime and 10 minutes into the second half had extended their lead to 18 points. After jumping out to a 10-2 lead early in the contest, the Maroons allowed the Royals to claw to within 12-10 with 10:18 left in the first half.
Cindy McGraw (Lynchburg, VA/EC Glass) hit two three-pointers in the first five minutes of the game for the Maroons, the second giving the hosts their 10-2 edge. EMU's Stephanie Mathews hit a layup in the paint to spark an 8-2 Royal run. Amanda Renalds scored five points in the run, the fourth and fifth bringing EMU to within 12-10.
That would be as close as the Royals would get, however. Sparked by two
Chandra Forrester (Wytheville, VA/Rural Retreat) layups, the Maroons quickly regained an eight-point lead. Roanoke had as much as a 10-point lead in the first half, before EMU made another small run, a run capped by a Mathews jumper with 45 ticks left in the half, to make the score 24-19 heading into the break. In the opening 20 minutes of play, the Maroons held EMU to just seven field goals, but turned the ball over 13 times and held just the five-point lead at the intermission.
In the second half, the Royals could never get any closer than five points. Leading 26-21 four minutes into the second half, the Maroons went on a 15-2 run to extend their lead out to 18 points with 9:35 left in the game. The Maroon defense was a large factor in that run. Roanoke did not allow the Royals to make a field goal in the first 11 minutes of the half. Eastern Mennonite's first four points of the half came from the free throw line. In that 15-2 run, junior
Veronica Kelly (Westport, CT/Staples) recorded five points, hitting a three-pointer, while the RC defense recorded three steals, two by
Brittany Johnson (West Simsbury, CT/Simsbury). Mathews made Eastern Mennonite's first field goal of the half with 8:53 to play, cutting RC's lead to 41-27.
Forrester led all players in the contest with 15 points, making seven of her nine shots from the floor. She also added seven rebounds, two steals, and an assist. Kelly finished the game with nine rebounds, tying a career-high. McGraw's only six points came on her two early threes, but from there she handed out a career-best six assists. Jennie Schafer (Centreville, VA/Centreville) finished with 11 points, eight coming in the second half.
Mathews led all Eastern Mennonite scorers with 13 points. Renalds scored nine points and added four rebounds for the Royals.
The Maroons are back in action on Saturday in a road game at Washington & Lee University. The Maroons and the Generals get started at 4:00pm.
Roanoke vs. Eastern Mennonite Box Score
