VIRGINIA BEACH -- A nine-point swing in a matter of 74 seconds propelled Roanoke College's Maroons to an 81-74 victory over the host Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan College in the regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday.
Virginia Wesleyan (12-13) led 60-59 following a jumper by juniorKristen Blalock (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian) with 5:28 remaining, before Roanoke (17-7) ignited the offense it needed to pull out the win.
Senior Rebecca Bays (Roanoke, Va./William Byrd) started the Roanoke surge with a jumper and grabbed the rebound after she missed a bonus free throw on the shot. She fired the ball to senior Kylie Lucas (Verona, Va./Fort Defiance), who shoveled in a shot that also drew a foul. Lucas also missed her free throw, but rookie Paxton Gwin (Buxton, N.C./Cape Hatteras) grabbed the rebound and passed it to senior Jordan Gholson (Louisa, Va./Louisa County), who knocked in a shot from inside the key.
It all combined to give the Maroons a 65-60 lead with 4:44 remaining in the game. Virginia Wesleyan had the chance to cut into the spread, but turned the ball over and Roanoke capitalized. Gwin drilled through a triple that opened up the largest lead of the game for the Maroons at 68-60 with 4:14 remaining.
Scoring from senior Kristina Jameson (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) and junior Shawnee Lewis (Alexandria, Va./Thomas A. Edison) pulled Virginia Wesleyan within five points twice in the final minutes, but Roanoke came up with the points it needed to notch the hard-fought win.
It was an intense game from the start, one that included 12 tie scores and 11 lead changes, nine in the second half.
Junior Jocelyn Spencer (Newport News, Va./Hampton Roads Academy)and Blalock both finished with double-doubles from the Marlins. While Blalock scored 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, Spencer turned in her best effort of the year with 18 points and 12 rebounds. The Marlins also got 15 points from sophomore Rachael Miller (Sterling, Va./Park View), who knocked down four triples.
Six-foot-two Nicci Moats (Blue Ridge, Va./Lord Botetourt) led Roanoke with 18 points and nine rebounds. Gwin and Gholson added 14 ponts each and Bays finished with 11 ponts and a game-high eight assists.
VWC outrebounded the taller Maroons 45-29 and hit a total of nine triples, including three from Spencer. Jameson and Lewis dished out five assists each for the Marlins.
The game at the Jane P. Batten Center closed the regular season for both teams, who will meet again soon. When the ODAC tournament begins on Thursday, Feb. 24, with the quarterfinals at the Salem Civic Center, the Marlins and the Maroons will collied in the final game of the night at 8 p.m. VWC enters as the No. 6 seed, while Roanoke is the No. 3 seed.