The Short Story:  The Roanoke women's basketball team split a pair of games this week while in Music City (Nashville, Tenn.) falling to Central (Iowa) before rebounding with a win over North Park (Illinois).

THE GAME FACTS
Score: Central 69, Roanoke 56
Location: Nashville, Tenn.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a quick start for Central scoring the first 10 points of the game in under three minutes. The Dutch led by as many as 13 in the period before a 7-0 run by the Maroons over the final 2:41 of the quarter cut the lead to just three at the end of the first.
• The second quarter saw Roanoke continue its hot shooting, taking a three point lead with 4:41 remaining in the half. The teams would trade baskets the rest of the second quarter with Central taking a slim, one-point lead going into halftime.
• Much like the start of the game, the Dutch got things going early, expanding their lead to 11 with 6:19 on the clock in the third. The Maroons tried to keep up, but Central pushed their lead to 14 at the change of quarters, as the Dutch held the Maroons to just seven points in the period.
• Trailing by as many as 18 in the fourth, the Maroons would not go away, outscoring their Great Plains counterpart 16-15 in the period to cut the lead down to 13 as the Dutch left the building with a 69-56 win.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Madison Nereu led Roanoke with 14 points while Rose Sande put up 13 against the Dutch.
• The Maroons led Central in points off turnovers (16-15), points in the paint (30-24), and fast break points (13-4)
• This was the first ever meeting between the two programs.

THE GAME FACTS
Score: Roanoke 61, North Park 57
Location: Nashville, Tenn.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In their second game in Nashville, the Maroons started off on the right foot, scoring the first five points of the game with 7:45 on the clock. The Vikings would tied the score up at 10-10 before taking their first lead at 14-13 with 2:37 left in the period. The two teams would trade baskets back-and-forth with the Maroons settling in for the one-point lead at the end of the first, 19-18.
• With Roanoke lead by three and 8:40 on the clock, both teams went cold over the next three minutes before a three-pointer by Jacquelyn DeJesse at 5:48 finally saw the scoreboard add numbers again, giving the Maroons a six-point lead. Roanoke pushed their advantage to as many as eight before the Vikings cut it to five, 35-30, as the team went to the locker rooms.
• North Park would attempt to take the lead in the third, tying the score up twice but both times the Maroons responded with a basket to prevent the Vikings from reclaiming the lead. a jumper by Nereu with eight seconds left in the quarter saw Roanoke maintain a three-point lead heading into the fourth.
• A flurry of scoring late in the final three and a half minutes saw Roanoke lead by as few as one and as many as seven, before a last second heave by the Vikings saw North Park fall short by four, 61-57 as the Maroons rebounded to close out the event with a win.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Three Maroons reached double-figures led by Nereu's and Sande's 14 points. Jada Steele set a new career-high with 11 points to also reach the mark.
• Sande also had a career night as she recorded a double-double with her 14 points and a new career-high 15 rebounds.
• Roanoke led North Park in second chance points (23-6) and bench points (20-6).

UP NEXT

• The Maroons are off for Christmas before returning to campus to host the Susan Dunagan Holiday Classic. The Maroons start off with York (Pa) on Friday, Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. 
• The Maroons also welcome in Hollins and Lancaster Bible to the Cregger Center as part of the Classic.