SALEM, Va. --- Randolph-Macon outscored Roanoke, 14-5 in overtime to win the ODAC Championship, 77-68 at the Salem Civic Center on Sunday afternoon. The win gives the Yellow Jackets (22-6) an automatic berth into the NCAA Div. III Tournament. The loss ends the Maroons regular season at 19-8.

 

Jennifer O'Briant banked in a 25-foot prayer at the regulation buzzer to send the game into the extra period as R-MC went on to earn its seventh ODAC title. Tournament MOP Molly Brown notched a game-high 22 points.

 

For Roanoke, it was its 18^th ODAC Championship appearance and its first since the 2003 season. It was the Maroons seventh loss to a team with 20 wins or more this year. The Maroons have lost to the Yellow Jackets for the fourth-straight time in the ODAC Tournament and are now 13-5 in ODAC Championship games.

 

Jordan Gholson and Nicci Moats, who were both named to the 2011 ODAC All-Tournament Team, combined with teammate Kylie Lucas for 35 points and 33 rebounds. Roanoke out-rebounded Randolph-Macon, 59-52 and outscored the Yellow Jackets, 38-22 in the paint. The 59 rebounds were a season-best for the Maroons and the fourth time this year with over 50 boards in a game.

 

Both teams struggled offensively on the shooting end, as R-MC shot 35.5-percent (27-of-76) from the field and 26.1-percent (6-of-23) from deep.  Roanoke hit just 31.3-percent (25-of-80) of its field goals, including a 3-for-18 (16.7%) showing from beyond the arc.

 

The first half was a close affair with five ties and six leads changes. Brown scored the opening bucket before Roanoke jumped out to a 10-5 lead after a Rebecca Bays lay-up with 16:11 to go. Both teams went back-and-forth over the next seven minutes before Brown scored five unanswered points to give the Yellow Jackets a 23-21 lead with 8:25 left.

 

It would be six-minutes later before the lead changed hands again with back-to-back lay-ins by Bays and Kendra Porter to give the Maroons the lead and held a 31-30 halftime advantage.

 

Following a jumper by Maggie Roy to open the second half scoring, the Maroons went on a mini 7-0 run to take a six-point lead with 16:52 to play.  The Yellow Jackets countered with a 17-4 strech over the next six minutes to go ahead 49-42 with 10:58 on the clock.

Roanoke started its move back to the lead with an 8-2 run to pull to within three following a layup by Kylie Lucas, but Roy returned the favor with her own short make to put R-MC up, 53-48 with 4:04 to go.  Gholson fought for and converted a pair of free throws after scrapping for an offensive rebound, then came back the next possession and connected on a three-pointer from the top of the key to bring RC to within two at 55-53 with 3:25 to play.

Cantrell again pushed the R-MC lead back out to five on the Jackets' next possession, but two free throws by Hannah Davidson and a layup from Bays pulled Roanoke to within one at 58-57.  Porter gave Roanoke its first lead in more than 13-minutes with another lay-in with 0:52 showing on the clock.

After Gholson recorded two-straight blocked shots to preserve RC's edge, Wieczorek reclaimed the advantage for R-MC with 0:30 to play at 60-59.  Gholson again stepped up, hitting a long jumper from above the foul line to put the Maroons' back on top 61-60 with 18-seconds to go.

 

Gholson added two free throws to extend RC's lead to three, but O'Briant played spoiler and savior with her sideline three-pointer as the buzzer sounded, sending both teams to extra time.

 

From then on, it was all R-MC, as the Yellow Jackets ignited a 10-0 R-MC run in overtime.  The Maroons' didn't record a bucket until Porter cashed in a three-pointer with 32-seconds to play.

 

Moats, who was sidelined the final 18 minutes of the game due to an injury, finished with eight points and 10 rebounds and two blocked shots. Her 44 rebounds for the weekend set a new ODAC Tournament record. The junior set single-season records in both blocked shots (81) and rebounds (312). She enters her final collegiate season in 2011-12 among Roanoke's top-15 in rebounding (506-13^th) and blocked shots (128-3^rd) and 322 points shy of 1,000 for her career.

 

For Gholson, she put together arguably her best game of the season with 22 points, 14 rebounds, two blocked shots and three steals. She shot 6-for-6 from the line, 7-of-12 overall including a three-pointer from the top of the key that kept the Maroons in the game late in the second half. Her 54.3% field goal percentage ranks eighth on the single-season list. 

 

For her career, Gholson, a three-time All-ODAC selection, ranks among the top-10 in scoring (8^th; 1,217), rebounding (7^th; 667), field goal percentage (5^th; .515), field goals made (5^th; 509) and free-throw percentage (6^th; .780). The all-time leader in blocked shots (211) ranks fifth in ODAC-history in that category.

 

Bays finished with 11 points, eight boards and three assists in her final collegiate game. In three years with the Maroons, Bays ended her career sixth on the career assists list (270). Porter also totaled 11 points in addition to four steals and three rebounds while Lucas added six points, a season-best nine rebounds and three assists in their final game at Roanoke.