SALEM, VA--Behind 13 points from freshman Erin Hanson (Blacksburg, VA/Blacksburg) and 11 from senior Jennie Schafer (Centreville, VA/Centreville) the Roanoke College women's basketball team defeated the Randolph-Macon Woman's College Wildcats 63-45 on Sunday afternoon in Salem, VA. The Maroons improve to 15-6 overall on the season and 11-6 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Wildcats fall to 2-17 overall and 2-13 in the ODAC.
Both teams scored just 22 points in the first 20 minutes of play and on a Jennifer Prewitt layup with 18:00 minutes to play in the game the Wildcats took a 26-24 lead. The Maroons, however, went on a 19-0 run to take control of the game. Schafer got the run going with a layup and Cindy McGraw (Lynchburg, VA/EC Glass) followed with a jumper to give the Maroons a 28-26 edge, a lead they would not give up. Schafer scored again in the paint and Hanson followed with a three-point play to give Roanoke a 33-26 lead with 15:49 left. McGraw then drilled a three-pointer from the corner and stole the ball on the ensuing in-bounds pass, allowing Brittany Johnson (West Simsbury, CT/Simsbury) the chance to give the Maroons a 38-26 lead moments later.
Field goals from Annie Roehm (Weston, CT/Weston) and Lindsay Reynolds (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring), along with a Reynolds free throw, gave the Maroons a 17-point advantage, 43-26, with 13:07 to play. Wildcat senior Amanda Workman brought the Maroon scoring streak to an end with a free throw with 12:49 left in the contest. The Maroons were able to get as much as a 22-point lead late in the game, that at 63-41, on a Torri Bridge (Stuarts Draft, VA/Stuarts Draft) steal and fastbreak layup.
The Maroons got off to a shaky start in Sunday's game, turning the ball over on five of their first 10 possessions and then missing shots from the field on seven of their next nine possessions. Those miscues allowed the Wildcats jump out to 15-5 lead with 12:21 left in the first half. Hanson scored back-to-back field goals to bring the Maroons to within six points, 15-9, but three more missed shots and another turnover let the Wildcats build their largest lead, 11 points, 20-9.
Roehm got things turned around for the Maroons with a layup and Johnson followed with consecutive buckets in the paint to again bring Roanoke to within just five, 20-15, that with 4:35 showing on the clock. Megan Stensrud scored on a layup with 3:30 left in the opening half of play, but that would be the last points the visitors would score in the frame. Roehm hit Roanoke's lone three-pointer of the half, Ashley Nesbit (Bowdoin, ME/Mt. Ararat) hit a free throw, and senior Kayce Smith (Chattanooga, TN/The Baylor School) scored the final three points of the half to make the score 22-22 at the break.
Hanson finished the game with a team-high 13 points for the Maroons, with Schafer adding the 11 points. Johnson came off the bench to score nine points and add four rebounds. Roehm finished the contest with seven points. The Maroons committed 14 turnovers in the game, but eight of those came in the first 12 minutes. The team also started 1-for-11 from the field, but finished by making 19 of their last 45 attempts. Sara Rechnitzer scored a game-high 14 points, scoring 12 of those from three-point range.
The Maroons are back in action on Tuesday in a road game at Hollins University. The game in Roanoke, VA begins at 7:00pm.
Roanoke vs. Randolph-Macon Woman's College Box Score
