Harrisonburg, Va. --- The women's basketball team squeaked out a 52-49 win on the road at Bridgewater on Tuesday evening. The Maroons improved to 14-9 overall and 12-6 in the ODAC. The Eagles dropped to 11-12; 9-10 in ODAC play. The Maroons have now won five-straight over the Eagles and stay in fourth-place in the ODAC Standings.

 

Roanoke was out rebounded, 42-40 and both teams shot 36% from the floor. There were nine ties and seven lead changes and both teams shot 36% from the field. Roanoke was outrebounded, 42-40 but outscored the Eagles, 14-13 in points off turnovers and 14-11 in second chance scoring.

 

The difference for the Maroons was outscoring Bridgewater, 34-26 in the paint and 19-9 off the bench led by Jordan Gholson. The freshman forward carried the team with a 15-point, four rebounds and two blocked shots performance.

 

The Maroons grabbed the early lead, 10-2 after a three-pointer by senior Erin Hanson just four minutes into the game. The Eagles responded with a run of their own, a 12-2 run over the next nine minutes to take a 14-12 lead at the six-minute mark in the first half.

 

Both teams would battle the remainder of the half with seven ties and five lead changes, but the Maroons' Marcy Conner gave her team the lead heading into the locker room as she scored off a lay-up to give Roanoke a 23-21 lead at the half.

 

Both teams continued to go back-and-forth in the second half. Bridgewater built its largest lead of the game off a lay-up by Jordan Burkholder to give her team a 44-38 lead with 7:15 remaining.

 

Roanoke slowly crept back into the game and got the lead back off two Caitlyn Long free-throws with 3:53 left to make it 48-46. It was the first Maroons lead of the second half. Gholson scored off an assist from Long to make it a four-point game with just over two minutes left.

 

A free-throw by Rebecca Henderson and a jumper by Nikki Sydnor put the Eagles within one, 50-49 with 1:20 to go in regulation.

 

A turnover by Long on the ensuing possession gave the Eagles a shot to take the lead, but Hanson stole the ball from Burkholder with :14 seconds left and Osborne was fouled.

 

Osborne hit both free throws with nine seconds left to give them a three-point lead. A missed three-point attempt by Timberlake fell just short as Hanson pulled down the rebound and the Maroons 12^th ODAC victory of the season.

 

T o follow Gholson's performance, senior forward Sara Keller finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals to pace the Maroons. Torri Bridge chipped in eight points and five rebounds while Hansonhad five points and a team-high 11 rebounds and four steals. 

 

The Eagles were led by Burkholder with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight steals. Nikki Sydnor finished with a double-double as she scored 11 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

 

The Maroons are back at home for senior night against Eastern Mennonite in the final home game of the season. The Maroons fell to the Royals, 77-74 on Jan. 4 in Harrisonburg, Va. without Hanson in the lineup. Roanoke is 47-19 all-time vs. EMU, but the Royals have won seven of the last 11 games and four out of the last five meetings. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

 

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