SALEM – The Roanoke Women's Basketball was unable to hold off the Eagles of Bridgewater, as they fell 54-40 on Tuesday.  The Maroons fall to 4-12, 4-8 ODAC while the Eagles rise to 12-6, 8-5 in ODAC play.
 
Through the first 20 minutes both teams shot fairly evenly as Bridgewater had the slight edge in field goal percentage 29.4% to 28.6%.  Roanoke was behind in rebounds 27-17, but amassed fewer turnovers with 10 to the Eagles' 13.
 
Entering the locker rooms at half, Roanoke trailed Bridgewater 24-20.  Taylor Duggins led the Maroons with seven points, while Nicci Moats pulled down six rebounds and blocked three shots.  Bridgewater's Kelsey Taylor led the scoring for her team with nine points at the half.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Maroons jumped on the board first as Paxton Gwin knocked down a jumper to pull the team within two, 24-22.  Over the next five minutes the teams traded baskets including three points from the Eagles' Shannan Thorne and two from Roanoke's Tatum McKee. 
 
With 14:47 to play, Bridgewater's Jessica Mullen opened the scoring gap by knocking down a trey, extending the Bridgewater lead to 30-25.
 
With 10 minutes left, the Maroons managed to cut the deficit back to two, 32-30, with a three-point play by Moats.  The Eagles' Rebecca Reifsnider returned the favor extending the lead back to four.
 
Bridgewater took their largest lead of the game of six points (41-35) when Jenny Logan knocked down a three-pointer with 7:24 to play.
 
The Maroons kept the contest close through the remainder of the contest, with Hannah Ward breaking out in the last few minutes of the contest knocking down two consecutive baskets for the Maroons at the three-minute mark.
 
However Bridgewater was able to outlast Roanoke down the stretch, extending their lead to a game-high 14 points, and defeating the Maroons 54-40.
 
Bridgewater outshot the Maroons 33% to 27% in the contest and posted an edge in turnovers 22-24.  Both teams managed to pull down 43 rebounds and shot evenly at from the free-throw line, with Roanoke gaining the 67% to 65% edge.
 
Gwin led the Maroons in the scoring column with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Moats exited the game with 12 rebounds and seven points.   Taylor Duggins led Roanoke with three assists.
 
Shannan Thorne topped the scoring on the night with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds.  Thorne was also 9-13 from the charity stripe.  Also in double digits for the Eagles was the ODAC's leading scorer, Jessica Mullen, who finished with 16 points.
 
The Maroons will return to action on February 3^rd as they travel to Lexington, Va. to face Washington and Lee in ODAC action.  That contest is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM.
 
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