SALEM, Va. -- The Bridgewater College women's basketball team fell to Roanoke 60-56 on Saturday despite a fourth quarter comeback.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Roanoke 60, Bridgewater 56
Records: Bridgewater 12-5, 7-4 ODAC; Roanoke 14-5, 8-4 ODAC

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Neither side could find nylon in the opening two minutes until Abby Branner nailed a triple to open the scoring. The Maroons responded with a hook shot to get on the board, but the Bridgewater defense went to work and did not allow a Roanoke field goal for the rest of the frame. The Maroons were just 1/17 from the floor in the opening quarter but were able to add a pair from the charity stripe down the stretch to make it 11-5 for the visitors after 10 minutes of play.
• Roanoke added another free throw to open the second quarter, but a jumper from Jasmyn Pierce helped extend the BC lead. RC finally ended their field goal drought with a layup and backed it up with consecutive three-pointers to take its first lead of the contest. Out of a Bridgewater timeout, Abby Freeman put the Eagles back in front. Kayla Ford also nailed a jumper from beyond the arc and another Freeman basket put the Eagles in front by six. Roanoke slowly chipped away and cut the BC advantage to 24-22 at the half with a three-pointer in the final minute.
• The Maroons defense owned the start of the third quarter holing the visitors without a field goal for the first 5:10 of the frame. During the span Roanoke went on an 11-3 run to take a 33-27 lead over halfway through the third quarter. After a Jay Garcia bucket ended the stretch, the two sides traded baskets the rest of the frame until a Maroons triple in the closing seconds gave the home side a 46-35 edge heading into the final period.
• After a second chance effort by Sande, the Maroons stretched the advantage to 13 points in the opening seconds of the fourth. The next passion the Eagles responded as Riley Corcoran found an open Rosemary Pierson in three-point land for the triple. The next possession Corcoran did the dirty work, sinking the bucket and drawing the foul for thee old-fashioned three-point play to draw the Eagles back to within seven. Roanoke extended their lead back out to double digits multiple times down the stretch, but the Eagles did not fade. Baskets in succession from Corcoran and Pierce drew the Eagles back to within six drawing a timeout from Roanoke.
• Out of the break Corcoran forced a turnover, drove the length of the floor, and was fouled. The freshman made the front end but missed the second shot. Roanoke made two free throws and extended the lead back to seven just inside of two minutes left to play. The BC defense got the stops they needed and capitalized with baskets from Garcia and Pierce on consecutive possessions to make it a 59-56 game with 25 seconds left. On the inbound the Eagles were forced to foul instantly with the shot clock turned off. Sande made the first shot but missed the second, however Roanoke secured the rebound forcing another Bridgewater foul. Jacquelyn DeJesse went to the charity stripe and missed both shots for RC. Jaden Alsberry grabbed the rebound for the Eagles. Bridgewater tried to get a quick shot off, but it did not find nylon.

MATCH FACTS

• Corcoran and Freeman both turned in double-digit scoring efforts with 14 and 12 respectively for the Crimson and Gold.
• Sande scored a game-high 21 points to go along with five rebounds and two helpers.
• Pierce added eight points of her own for the Eagles and grabbed six rebounds along with four assists.
• The two squads were nearly dead even on the boards with BC holding a 38-36 advantage in total while the Maroons had a 17-7 edge on the offensive glass.
• Bridgewater had a healthy advantage from the charity stripe shooting 86.7 percent compared to just a 57.7 clip for the Maroons.

UP NEXT

The Eagles return home to take on Washington and Lee on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. in the BC Strong Game.