LEXINGTON, Va. - Bridgewater College struggled to find its rhythm at the offensive end Tuesday night and the Washington and Lee Generals took advantage of the Eagles' cold-shooting to post a 58-42 ODAC victory.
Bridgewater (11-10, 7-6 in the ODAC) shot just 30 percent (30-for-66) for the game and just 1-of-16 from 3-point range. Despite the off night from the field, they were still within striking distance early in the fourth period.
A short jumper by Cassidy Burkholder with 7:11 left in the game pulled the Eagles to within eight, 48-40, but the Generals scored the next eight points to open up a 16-point lead, 56-40 with 4:43 left in the game.
W&L (13-9, 8-5 in the ODAC) used a 6-0 spurt in the opening period to take a 10-4 lead and the Generals led the rest of the way. A 3-pointer by Jessi Strom pulled the Eagles to within three points before W&L scored the final five points of the period to lead 15-7.
An 8-2 run by the Eagles early in the second period trimmed a 17-10 deficit down to a single point. Buckets by Briana Moore and Jessica Lam cut the margin to three before a bucket by Ailyn Kelly gave the Generals a 19-14 lead. Burkholder then scored two straight buckets to pull the Eagles to within one at 19-18. Shelbi Hendrickss scored for the Generals, but Burkholder tallied again to keep the margin at one, 21-20.
The Generals then reeled off the final six points of the period, four of those by Jackie Clifford, to lead 27-20 at the half.
Clifford scored the first four points of the second half to push the margin to double digits, 31-20. Bridgewater then fought back with a 10-2 run to make it a one possession game.
Lam and W&L's Emma Redding traded hoops before baskets by Sydni Carey and Burkholder trimmed the margin to seven. Another hoop by Burkholder and a short jumper by Oshene Kelly pulled the Eagles to within three, 33-30, with 4:23 left in the third period.
The Generals responded to the Eagles run with a 13-6 flurry during the remainder of the period to take a 46-36 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Burkholder was the lone Bridgewater player in double figures as she finished with 14 points. Moore added eight points off the bench for the Eagles. Lam, Bridgewater's leading scorer, was limited to just four points.
Clifford paced W&L with 19 points and Kelly scored 10.
The Generals owned the boards by a 42-32 margin with Hendricks pulling down a game-high nine rebounds. Kelly grabbed eight boards and Burkholder pulled down seven for the Eagles.