WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Bridgewater erased a 10-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the second half, but Salem College converted big plays in the final minute to take a 71-68 victory over the Eagles Saturday afternoon.

The Eagles trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half and went to the locker room on the short end of a 40-30 score.

Bridgewater scored the first seven points of the second half to cut the lead to three and after that neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way.

The Eagles took their first lead of the second half with 11:55 remaining when Holly Morgan knocked down a 3-pointer for a 51-50 Bridgewater lead.

Trailing 61-60 with 5:08 left to play, the Eagles scored the next five points to lead the contest going into the final minute of play. A jumper by Cassidy Burkholder gave the Eagles the lead and then Burkholder hit 1-of-2 at the line for a 63-61 lead. After a miss by the Spirits, Jessi Strom made two foul shots to put the Eagles on top 65-61 with 1:55 to play.

Quantashea Lewis hit a jumper for Salem to cut the lead to two, but Burkholder hit 1-of-2 at the line to put the Eagles up by three, 66-63, with 55 seconds left.

Satavia Taylor drained a contested 3-pointer to tie the score and, following an Eagles turnover, Jasmine Shabazz hit a jumper to put the Spirits back on top 68-66.

After another Bridgewater turnover, Lasashia Connelly made 1-of-2 foul shots to give Salem a 3-point advantage. The Eagles trimmed the deficit to one, 69-68, when Holly Morgan made two foul shots with 10 seconds left.

Taylor knocked down two crucial free throws for the Spirits to make it 71-68 the Eagles were unable to connect on a potential tying shot in the closing seconds.

The Eagles placed four players in double figures. Heather Cantrell tied her career-high with 17 points to lead the Bridgewater offense. Strom and Burkholder each scored 13 points and Molly Shelley added 10.

Taylor paced the Spirits with 25 points and Lewis added 20 points.

Salem controlled the glass in the first half as they outrebounded the Eagles 24-10 in the first 20 minutes. Bridgewater closed the overall margin on the boards as they held a 24-18 advantage in the second half. Cantrell and Morgan each grabbed eight rebounds for the Eagles while Lewis pulled down 12 boards for the Spirits.