Roanoke (16-2, 12-2 ODAC) will try to keep its eight-game winning streak alive as they host Lynchburg (7-11, 5-8 ODAC) at the Bast Center Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. They will look to avenge one of their two losses of the season against the Hornets, a 61-60 decision on Jan. 6.

 

Roanoke is 58-8 all-time against Lynchburg since 1976-77. The Hornets defeated the Maroons, 61-60 in Lynchburg on Jan. 6 breaking a nine-game series win streak. Prior to that game, the Maroons averaged 80 points per game in the last seven meetings. In the last six years, at least one of the two meetings has gone down to the wire, less than 10 points.

 

LYNCHBURG, Va. --- The women's basketball team fell to Lynchburg, 61-60 at Turner Gym in Lynchburg this evening. The Maroons dropped to 8-1 with a 4-1 mark in the ODAC. The Hornets improved to 5-6 overall, 3-3 in the ODAC.

 

Roanoke is now 58-8 all-time against Lynchburg, 9-1 over the last five seasons with their first loss to the Hornets since 2004. The loss breaks the eight-game win streak as the 8-0 start was the best in school-history. It was tied for the seventh-best win-streak in program history. The most came during the 1990-91 season with 26.

 

The Maroons Achilles heel was free-throws on the night, shooting 18-of-33 (54.5%) for the game. They also shot 33.9-percent from the floor, both stats the lowest of the season.

 

Caitlyn Long sparked the Maroons early with back-to-back three-pointers to make it, 12-7 early in the first half at the 15-minute mark.

 

It would be the largest lead of the game for either team as there were seven ties and 11 lead changes through the contest.

 

Lynchburg responded with a 15-5 run over the next nine minutes to give them a five-point lead, 22-17 with 6:36 left in the half.

 

Roanoke chipped away at the Hornets' lead and went into the half with a 31-30 deficit.

 

Lynchburg held the lead for most of the second half but the game remained close as the Hornets couldn't pull away. The largest lead was no more than five points at the 14:40 mark in the second half.

 

Long's third three-pointer of the night gave Roanoke their first lead of the second half, 54-53 with just under four minutes remaining. Jaleesa Osborne's free-throw with 1:54 left gave the Maroons a 57-53 advantage which capped a short 6-0 run and seemed primed for its ninth-straight win.

 

But Lynchburg had other ideas and scored eight-straight points during the next 1:30 as JaQuan Eldridge's three free-throws made it 61-57 with nine seconds to go.

Long hit a three with two seconds left, but wasn't enough to send the game into overtime as time expired.

 

Osborne had 16 points and two steals to lead Roanoke. She moved into eighth all-time in career steals at Roanoke with 163. Her 202 assists is 11^th all-time at Roanoke.

 

Long finished with a season-high 15 points, 4-6 from beyond the arc. With 90 career three-pointers made, she is now two shy of moving into sixth all-time in that category. She is currently seventh in career three-pointers attempted with 281.

 

Jordan Gholson finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots on the night, including all in the first half, which is the most in program history for blocked shots in a half. She has moved into the top-10 in career blocked shots at Roanoke with 67, which is eighth on that list. She needs four more to move into a tie for seventh with Sarah Dingledine '00.

 

SALEM, Va. --- Roanoke defeated Hollins, 79-33 Saturday afternoon in ODAC women's basketball action to remain atop the ODAC Standings. Hollins remained winless on the year while the Maroons improved to 16-2 overall and 12-2 in the conference.

 

The eight-game win streak is the longest since the 1998-99 season (10) while the 16-2 start is the best since the 1996-97 season. It was the seventh time this season that the Maroons defeated a team by at least 25-points or more.

 

Caitlyn Long led Roanoke for the third time this season with 14 points, including a season-high 4-of-6 from three-point range. Lindsay Skaff had a season-best 11 points, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Rachel Hawkins had nine points with a career-high nine rebounds, narrowly missing her first career double-double.

 

Capitola Sullenberger led the Maroons with a career-best 10 rebounds. Jordan Gholson and Rebecca Bays tossed in eight points each while Erin Jenkins chipped in seven points along with six rebounds.

 

Tamara Phillips led all players with 19 points and eight steals in addition to five rebounds. She shot 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.

 

Lynchburg (7-11, 5-8 ODAC) has dropped five of its last seven games. Kylie Lucas leads the Hornets in scoring (11.3 ppg), rebounding (5.8 rpg) and free-throws made (58). She has led the team in scoring five times this season. Kristina Darby (7.9 ppg) leads the Hornets in three-pointers made (16), free-throw percentage (94.4%) and steals (28). Carly Greenlief scored 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds in a 66-56 loss to Emory & Henry.

 

Roanoke (16-2, 12-2 ODAC) has won the last eight games after dropping a 73-43 decision to Randolph-Macon on Jan. 9. They won their 650^th win for the program against Randolph on Dec. 5. Susan Dunagan won her 530^th game against the Wildcats on Jan. 30 which is the most among any coach in ODAC History. They won all three games last week by an average of 37.6 points and have had at least a 25-point win margin in seven games this season.

 

Caitlyn Long scored 43 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out nine assists in three games last week. Against Randolph, Long scored 21 points and hit 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in addition to three assists. Against Hollins, she scored 14 points and hit 4-of-6 from three-point range with three assists. For the week, she his 8-of-15 from beyond the arc. She leads the team in scoring (11.6 ppg), three-pointers made (35) and free-throws made (46). Long has scored in double-figures in 11 games, including nine of the last 10 games.

 

Jordan Gholson leads the Maroons in blocked shots (36), rebounds (6.2 rpg) and field goal percentage (50.6%). She is second in scoring (11.2 ppg) and has 10 games in double-figures. She is ranked second in the ODAC in field goal percentage and blocked shots. Jaleesa Osborne leads the team in steals (47) and assists (68) while averaging 10.3 points per game. She is ranked in the ODAC in field goal percentage (6^th), assists (5^th), steals (4^th) and leads the conference in assist-turnover ratio (2.19).

 

Sophomore center Jordan Gholson has her best games against Lynchburg in four career games. She averages 16 points, seven rebounds and nearly three blocked shots per game against the Hornets. Last season at home Gholson scored a career-best 28 points in a 74-68 win (1/19/08). In this season's meeting on Jan. 6, she had five blocked shots including 12 points and eight rebounds in a 61-60 loss. She was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field in an 85-69 win in last season's ODAC Quarterfinal win over the Hornets.

 

Jordan Gholson has recorded 36 blocked shots this season to move up to sixth on the single-season list. Her 81 career blocked shots has moved her up to fifth on the all-time list. Jaleesa Osborne's 185 steals rank her seventh on the career steals list at Roanoke. Her 243 career assists is ninth all-time. Caitlyn Long's 113 career three-pointers rank her sixth while her 331 three-point attempts are sixth all-time. Erin Jenkins entered the top-10 in career three-pointers made with 71 while her 211 three-point attempts are also ranked 10^th all-time at Roanoke.