Posted: Feb 26, 2011
SALEM, Va. – Junior center Nicci Moats scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Roanoke College past Guilford College, 68-57, in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Women's Basketball Tournament semifinal Saturday at the Salem Civic Center.
For Moats, who already holds the single-season blocked shots record with 79, broke the single-season rebounding record with 302 previously held by Crystal Barrett ‘01 back in 2000. She is now 14th on the career rebounding list at Roanoke (496).
The third-seeded Maroons (19-7) advanced to their 18th ODAC Tournament final on the strength of their veteran post players: Moats, senior Jordan Gholson and senior Kylie Lucas. The trio combined for 49 points of Roanoke's 68 points and collected 27 of the team's 40 rebounds.
The Maroons, who are 18-9 in conference semifinals all-time, held a slight rebounding edge (40-39) but were dominant in other categories. They outscored GC, 42-22 in the paint and scored 20 points off 16 Quaker turnovers. Roanoke shot 45.5% on the day while holding Guilford to 33.8% (22-of-65).
The win marked the 33rd in the series against Guilford, including 5-1 in the ODAC Tournament. Roanoke will advance to its first ODAC Championship game since the 2002-03 season.
Roanoke's veteran frontcourt also overshadowed seventh-seeded Guilford's impressive freshman post tandem of Morgan King and Gabby Oglesby. King scored four points Saturday, after hitting for a career-high 22 in the Quakers' upset of second-seeded Bridgewater College Thursday. Oglesby was held to five points, more than six below her season average.
Guilford fell behind by nine points early, but recovered thanks to Jazlyn Gibbs and six first-half three-pointers. Gibbs scored 13 of her team-high 23 points in the opening period, including a three that gave Guilford a 31-28 edge three minutes before halftime.
The Maroons closed the half on a 7-0 run that included four Moats points and a Lucas bucket. Gholson (13 points, 8 rebounds) and Moats opened the second-half scoring, which created a 39-31 Roanoke lead. A Gibbs three-pointer pulled Guilford within five, but the Quakers drew no closer.
Rebecca Bays scored 11 points and contributed six assists for Roanoke. She moved into sixth on the all-time assists list at Roanoke with 266. Her 107 assists are six shy of 10th on the single-season list. Gholson finished with 13 points, eight boards, three steals and two blocked shots. She moved past Caitlyn Long '10 for ninth on the career scoring list with 1,196 points. She also moved past Ashley McCallum '97 for seventh on the career rebounding list (653).
Brittany Atwater and Logan Terry both scored eight points for the Quakers. King grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds in defeat.
Roanoke faces Randolph-Macon College in Sunday's ODAC Tournament final. The Yellow Jackets beat Washington and Lee University, 79-66, in Saturday's other semifinal. Roanoke fell to R-MC, 73-71 at home and 56-45 this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Salem Civic Center.
