SALEM, VA-Back in action for the first time since December 19th, the Roanoke College women's basketball team defeated Washington & Lee University 63-52 on Friday evening in Salem, VA. The Maroons improve to 5-5 overall with the win over the Generals, which was the team's 25th in 26 all-time meetings in the series. Roanoke is also now 3-3 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Washington & Lee falls to 3-6, 1-5 in the ODAC.
Tied five times in the first eight minutes of the second half, the score tilted in Roanoke's favor for good with 12:13 left in the game on two
Erin Hanson free throws. Those two shots sparked a 10-0 run that Hanson capped with a jumper with 7:35 to play, giving the Maroons 51-42 lead. In between,
Ashley Nesbit hit a jumper from the elbow,
Jaleesa Osborne hit a running layup, and Hanson added another bucket.
After the 10-0 Roanoke run, the Generals trimmed the lead to six points, 51-45, but again the Maroons used a run to get their lead out to double-digits for the first time, 55-45. With 5:07 to play and the Maroons holding the 55-45 lead, the Generals used a 5-0 run over their own, getting three points from Kristen Krouchick and two from Emily Wolff, to cut Roanoke advantage to just five, 55-50, with 3:36 left.
That was as close as the Generals would get. The Maroons held the Generals scoreless for the next 3:28. In the process Hanson scored on a back-door cut and pass from
Cindy McGraw and the Maroons made six of their eight free throw attempts in the final minute to extend their lead out to as much as 13. The Generals made two free throws with eight seconds left to make the final 63-52.
A back-and-forth game in the first half saw W&L's Wolff go 3-for-3 from three-point range in the early stages. The Generals had as much as a six-point lead in the half, but the Maroons scored five of the final six points of the opening half to take a 29-26 lead at the break.
As a team, the Maroons turned the ball over a season-low eight times, while forcing 21 W&L turnovers. As a result, the Maroons got off 14 more shots than their visitors. Hanson finished the contest with game high points, 19, and rebounds, 12, to record her ninth double-double of the season. Osborne scored 13 points and added a game-best six assists.
W&L's Jessica Hunsinger scored 14 points and 11 rebounds and also blocked six Roanoke shots. Wolff scored 15 points, nine in the first half, and added nine rebounds and five assists.
The Maroons are back in action on Tuesday in a road game against the Eagles of Bridgewater College. The team does not return home for two weeks, when it will host Randolph-Macon College on January 19th at 7:00pm.
Roanoke vs. Washington & Lee Box Score
