SALEM - The Roanoke College women's basketball team lost to Shenandoah University on Saturday afternoon, by a narrow three-point, 73-70 margin. The Maroons now have a record of 8-10, 4-6 in the ODAC, while the Hornets sit with a record of 8-11, 5-5 in ODAC play.

Paxton Gwin led the team in scoring with 25 points, shooting 11-18 from the field. She finished the game with four rebounds and three assists. Gwin moves in to 9^th place all-time scoring at Roanoke College, passing Caitlyn Long '10 (1,190) and Kay Caldwell '94 (1,202). She is just two points shy of tying Jordan Gholson '11 (1,217) and seven points from tying Karen Jenkins '91 (1,222). Gwin is still the second leading scorer in the ODAC, netting 19.0 points per game.

Laurel Hankins scored the first five points for the Maroons as Roanoke got off to an early 5-4 lead. Gwin and Tatum McKee jumped in on the scoring and Roanoke had a 9-4 lead in the first three minutes of the contest. Roanoke had built a 16-12 lead by the 14:08 mark in the first half, but the Hornets started to charge, going on a 12-2 run, capped by a three pointer from Crystal Petrus. With 4:42 to play in the first period, Gwin knocked down a jumper, as Roanoke trailed by seven, 29-22. In the final minutes, Roanoke outscored Shenandoah 8-3, with baskets from Gwin, Anna Carter, Bridget Holleran and Kanisha Wiley. At the end of the half, Roanoke trailed only by three points, 33-30.

At the end of the first minute of the second half, Paxton Gwin scored the first two points of the period to pull the Maroons back within one. Free throws from Hankins and a layup from Gwin kept the Maroons close, but an old-fashioned three point play from Beckwith gave Roanoke its first lead of the second half , 39-37. The Horntes' McGhee scored five points over the next minute and a half to reclaim the lead for Shenandoah, 42-39. Roanoke worked its way back into the contest with baskets from Beckwith and Carter, topped off by a three pointer from Gwin as Roanoke now led by four, 46-42 with 11:58 to play.

Another three points from Carter and a trey from Hankins gave Roanoke its largest lead of the contest, nine points, 52-43. After the teams matched layups, Crystal Petrus hit four free throws over the span of a minute to get the Hornets within five, 54-49 In the span of the next two minutes, Gwin scored six points for the Maroons, but Shenandoah hit a pair of threes and a free throw, keeping the Hornets within four. Starting at 4:02, the Hornets knocked down four free throws to get within two, 62-60. The Maroons were able to build the lead back to five points over the next two minutes, leading 67-62 with two minutes to play.

Shenandoah's Tiffany Bauer hit a jumper, followed by two free throws from Petrus, as well as a layup from Erin French, giving the Hornets a one point advantage with 53 seconds to play. Bauer hit three free throws after that as Roanoke now trailed by four. After Bauer missed her second free throw with 26 seconds to play, McKee grabbed the rebound, dishing to Hankins who knocked down the long range three to pull the Maroons within one, 71-70 with 18 seconds left. However, a late turnover by the Maroons and free throws from Shenandoah sealed the contest as Roanoke fell 73-70 in ODAC play.

Laurel Hankins was the only other Maroon scoring in double-digits on Saturday afternoon. She scored 16 points, going along with three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Tatum McKee finished with nine points and led all players in the game with eight rebounds. Anna Carter also scored nine points for the Maroons, shooting 3-5 from both the field and the free throw line.

The Maroons led in many statistical categories for the day including field goal percentage (48.2-41.8), free throw percentage (73.3-69.2) and rebounds (35-32). However, Roanoke also led in turnovers for the game, 22-18.

The Maroons return to action on Wednesday, February 5^th as they host Emory & Henry. That contest is scheduled for a 7:00 PM start.

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
We just reached 2,480 fans on Facebook, but we're trying to have the most followers in the ODAC. So, don't forget to become a fan of Maroon Athletics on Facebook. You can also follow us on Twitter @rcmaroons. Be sure to check out Roanoke Athletics' YouTube Channel on our athletics home page and watch various highlight clips from our home games. To keep up to date with Maroon athletics from your mobile phone, click HERE to access the mobile app.

CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GAME? WATCH IT ONLINE!
Have you seen our brand new Live Game Portal? Click HERE to watch live webcasts of each scheduled home athletic event, along with Live Stats which have now been integrated into the live video feed. Also, share your thoughts on Twitter by posting to @rcmaroons or using the featured hashtag in the live video portal!