SALEM, Va. – The Roanoke College Women's Basketball Team (7-6, 3-2 ODAC) needed an extra five minutes of play but came away with a 62-54 overtime victory over Emory & Henry College (9-4, 3-2 ODAC) Wednesday evening at the C. Homer Bast Center. It was the second-straight game in which the Wasps have fallen in overtime and marks three losses in the past four outings.
Early in the game, the two teams battled to an 11-9 Roanoke lead with the first nine points for E&H coming from senior guard Anna Green (Raleigh, N.C.) on three-pointers. The Maroons would lead, 24-15, at the end of the first quarter, but Emory & Henry responded to cut the margin to 28-26 at the half with an 11-4 advantage in the second 10 minutes. RC shot 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from the field in the opening frame to get things going out of the gate.
The third period was knotted 10-10 as both squads struggled to hit shots for a 36-38 score with 10 minutes to play. Emory & Henry limited Roanoke to just one-for-12 (8.3%) shooting in the fourth as it took the lead, 46-43, with 4:53 to go on a three-pointer by freshman guard Taylor Blevins (Abingdon, Va.). It was the first advantage for the Wasps since the 8:04 mark of the first quarter. A foul with four seconds left put the Maroons on the line where they tied things up, 46-46. E&H had one last possession before the end of regulation, but the shot would not fall.
In overtime, Roanoke scored the opening eight points to go up 54-46 with 2:41 to go. That margin would prove to be enough as the two teams matched one another point for point through the end of the contest. E&H cut the lead to four points on yet another three-pointer by Green with 12 seconds to go but would get no closer for the 62-54 final margin.
Roanoke's Cary Beahm led all scorers with 23 points, going 13-for-14 at the free throw line, and added seven rebounds. Bridget Holleran had 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals while Ellen Wagner notched 10 points and four boards. As a team, the Maroons converted 85.2 percent (23-for-27) of their free throws to make up for just 19-for-58 (32.8%) shooting.
Emory & Henry was paced by Green's 18 points on six-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Blevins went for 15 points and had 18 rebounds to complete the double-double, the most boards for a Wasp since then-freshman Karina Farr (Graham, Wash.) set the school record with 24 rebounds against Randolph-Macon College at home nearly three years ago to the day (Jan. 12, 2013). Farr added nine points and 10 rebounds Wednesday against the Maroons.
The Wasps shot just 32.3 percent (20-for-62) and hit seven three-pointers. However, E&H went to the free throw line just 10 times the whole game, scoring seven points to trail RC by 16 at the line. E&H led 15-10 on second chance points as well.
Emory & Henry will return home on Saturday to face Randolph-Macon in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference game at 2:00 p.m. All fans are encouraged to bring a teddy bear to the game for the Wasps' inaugural "Teddy Bear Toss." The bears will be thrown onto the court at the end of the first quarter and will be collected and donated to the Nicewonger Children's Hospital in Johnson City, Tennessee.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15