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BRIDGEWATER, Va. - Junior guard Jessica Mullen tallied 27 points and freshman forward Shannan Thorne chipped in 14 points as the Bridgewater Eagles (5-3, 3-2 ODAC) women's basketball team shot at a 43% clip from the field on the evening to post a 73-60 victory over the visiting Roanoke Maroons (1-7, 1-3 ODAC) to open the 2012 portion of the season.
Bridgewater jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on Roanoke at the beginning of the game before the Maroons used a 7-3 spurt to knot the game up at seven each with 16:20 to play in the first half.
The two teams traded scores over the next seven minutes before a pair of Rebecca Reifsnider free throws opened up a 7-2 run from the Eagles to put Bridgewater up by an eight-point tally at a 28-20 margin with 7:09 to play in the opening frame.
Roanoke was able to chip the lead back to three with a spurt of its own, before Bridgewater scored 11 unanswered points to push the lead to a game-high 14 at a 39-25 gap with 2:45 left in the first half.
The Maroons scored eight of the final 12 points of the first half, but it was Bridgewater holding a solid 43-33 lead as the two teams went to the locker room.
Bridgewater owned a 22-to-10 advantage in the points in the paint department over the game's first 20 minutes.
Out of the intermission, the Maroons worked the lead to single digits at a 45-38 margin before a 7-0 Eagles run pushed the lead back to 14 with 13:25 to play.
Following the Eagles' run, both teams traded scores with Bridgewater maintaining a 61-49 advantage with 6:59 left.
But Roanoke wasn't finished. The Maroons scored seven unanswered points of their own to work the Eagles advantage to just five at a 61-56 gap with 4:26 to play in the contest.
Thorne knocked in a jumper with 3:32 to play to end the Roanoke run, before the Eagles went a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe over the final two minutes and change to post the team's third-straight win by a 73-60 margin.
Mullen's 27 paced the way for the Eagles on the evening as the Purcellville, Va. native went 10-of-18 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the line. The junior guard also chipped in a game-high six steals in the win.
Thorne paced the Eagles on the glass with eight boards as the two teams ended up with 37 rebounds each. Senior Jenny Logan was also impressive with seven points, seven rebounds and six assists in the win.
Roanoke was led offensively by a 14-point effort from Laurel Hankins. Hankins' led three Maroons in double figures on the evening. Senior center Nicci Moats grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to pace Roanoke on the glass.
Bridgewater recognized head coach Jean Willi during pregame for her milestone 300th career win which came on December 6 in the Eagles' 80-63 victory over Southern Virginia.
The Eagles are back in action on Friday when they travel to Hollins. Tip off is set for a 7:00 p.m. start.
