ROANOKE, Va. - Senior Jordan Burkholder (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) continued her assault on the career record books by setting the career steals record as the Bridgewater Eagles (16-3, 11-3 ODAC) rolled out to their fourth straight win by an 81-56 tally over Hollins University.
In the game's early going, the two teams traded scores, with the Eagles leading 9-7 with just under 16 minutes left in the opening frame.
Bridgewater used a Burkholder steal and easy layup at the other end to kick-start an 11-2 run which put the Eagles up 20-9 with just under 14 minutes to play.
Following Bridgewater's run, the two team traded scores to bring the tally to 28-16 with seven and change remaining in the first half as the Eagles defense forced a number of miscues from the Hollins offense.
Over the final seven plus minutes of the half, the two teams played even, but it was Bridgewater extending its lead to 18 twice before taking a 42-27 halftime lead.
The Eagles shot 45% from the field in the first half as Jenny Logan (Luray, Va./Luray) paced the way with 11 points. Katelynn Hottinger (Linville, Va./Broadway) chipped in 10 points and also managed five blocks.
Out of the intermission, a quick Bridgewater turnover turned into Hollins points at the other end before the Eagles broke the Hollins press defense to bring the game to a 44-29 tally.
The game became a foul-fest in the early going of the second half, but Bridgewater used a 10-3 run over the next five minutes to build a then game-high 22 point lead at a 54-32 margin.
Following the Eagles run, Hollins answered with a jumper before a technical foul on the Hollins bench allowed the Eagles to build a 55-34 lead off of a Burkholder free throw with 13 and change to play.
Hollins was able to get the lead to 20 points, cutting the lead to a 64-45 margin to eight minutes to play.
Bridgewater responded with a trey from Molly Shelley (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury), the first of her career in ODAC play, but Hollins refused to go away, using a 5-0 run, mostly from the line to bring the game to a 67-49 Eagles lead with 5:08 to play.
After Hollins chipped the game to 18, Bridgewater used three straight Hollins miscues to go on a 6-0 run to build its lead to a 73-49 tally with four and change to play. All six points during the run were scored by freshman Berlyn Seitz (Fulton, Mo./South Callaway).
Over the final four minutes of the game, the two teams traded scores, but it was Bridgewater notching its fourth straight victory by an 81-56 tally to earn the season sweep over Hollins.
Bridgewater is back in action tomorrow, Saturday, February 5 when it puts its unbeaten home record on the line against the defending ODAC champions, Washington and Lee. Action from Nininger Hall is slated for a 3:00 p.m. start.