BRIDGEWATER, Va. --- Roanoke held off a late second-half run by Bridgewater to defeat the Eagles, 60-49 at Nininger Hall Tuesday evening. The Maroons remained undefeated at 5-0, 2-0 in ODAC play while the Eagles dropped to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

 

With the win, the Maroons are 5-0 for the first time since 1997-98 and have the second-best start in school history. They are tied with the 1987-88 team and need only one more win to tie the school-record held by the 1997-98 team (6-0).

 

The Maroons are 53-28 all-time against Bridgewater and have won the last six meetings.

 

Roanoke jumped out to an 8-0 lead as Bridgewater called timeout just three minutes into the game as Jordan Gholson and Jaleesa Osborne had four points each to start the game.

 

After the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to close it to within two, Caitlyn Long hit a three-pointer to spark a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to make it 17-6 at the 10 minute mark.

 

After Bridgewater's Jean Willi called timeout, the Eagles calmed down and outscored Roanoke, 9-7 to go into the half with the score, 24-16. It was the third time this season the Maroon defense has held their opponent to less than 20 first-half points.

 

Roanoke opened the second half with a 10-0 run to make the score 34-16 with 16-minutes remaining. Gholson, Long and Osborne carried the scoring load during the run to pull away from the Eagles.

 

Bridgewater had a 12-4 run to close it to within 12 with 11-minutes remaining. The run was sparked by offensive rebounds and put backs to close in on the Maroon lead.

 

The Eagles continued to chip away at the Roanoke lead. Offensive rebounding and put backs continued for Bridgewater as they got within four, 53-49 off a Jordan Burkholder layup with 2:13 remaining as Roanoke called timeout.

 

An Osborne jumper along with Gholson and Long's made free-throws gave the Maroons a 59-49 lead with less than a minute to go. On the Eagles next possession, Kristin Bossermans' three-pointer was blocked by Erin Jenkins as Gholson pulled down the rebound as the Maroons ran out the clock.

 

Osborne led Roanoke with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals along with 7-of-9 from the floor. Jenkins had 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists while Long finished with nine points, four rebounds and a career-high eight assists. Gholson finished with eight points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. 

 

The women will host Randolph College on Friday, Dec. 5 in ODAC action. The Maroons are 51-4 all-time against the Wildcats and have won the last three meetings by an average of 31 points. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

 

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