Bridgewater College overcame a tough shooting night with a strong performance on the boards and a solid defensive effort to defeat Shenandoah, 56-48, in ODAC women’s basketball action Wednesday at Shingleton Gymnasium.
The win was the first in conference play for Bridgewater, now 8-6 overall and 1-4 in the ODAC.
Shenandoah took its biggest lead of the game late in the second quarter when Kirstyn Arcata knocked down a 3-pointer for a 25-18 Hornets’ margin with 2:56 left in the half.
A jumper by Jessica Lam and two foul shots by Allie Coburn pulled the Eagles to within three, 25-22, at the 1:31mark. A jumper by Eagles’ point guard Sydni Carey made it a one-point game before Olivia Callan hit two foul shots to put the Hornets up by three. Bridgewater’s Rebecca Harvey made two foul shots with six seconds left to pull the Eagles to within one, 27-26 at the break.
Callan opened the third quarter with a jumper, but layups by Kaitlyn Lehan and Carey gave the Eagles the lead for good, 30-29. Carey scored again and Briana Moore added a layup for a five-point, 34-29, advantage.
Arcata hit two buckets to pull the Hornets back to within one, but the Eagles answered with an 8-0 spurt to take their biggest lead of the game. Two buckets by Harvey and a free throw by Moore gave the Eagles a 39-33 lead. Lam then hit a 3-pointer, Bridgewater’s only make from beyond the arc the entire night, to put the Eagles on top, 42-33, with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
The lead was still nine with 42 seconds left in the quarter, but the Hornets closed with a 4-0 spurt to trail by five, 44-39, entering the final quarter.
Lam opened the fourth quarter with a layup, but two buckets by Arcata trimmed the Eagles’ lead down to three, 46-43.
Bridgewater built the margin back to seven, 50-43, with 4:03 left. A jumper by Jordan Sondrol inched the Hornets closer at 50-45. After Lam made 1-of-2 foul shots, the teams traded empty possessions until Carey hit two free throws for a 53-45 Bridgewater lead with 46 seconds left.
Callan hit a 3-pointer to once again cut the margin to five points, but Moore made 1-of-2 foul shots with 35 seconds left, giving Bridgewater a 54-48 cushion.
Sondrol missed a 3-pointer on Shenandoah’s next offensive trip and Lehan controlled the rebound for the Eagles. The Hornets fouled Moore and the Eagles’ sophomore guard hit both foul shots with 19 seconds left for the final 56-48 margin of victory.
Moore led a balanced Eagles’ scoring attack with 17 points and Lam added 12. Lehan scored nine points while Harvey and Carey each chipped in with eight. Arcata paced the Hornets with 13 points and Callan scored 11.
Bridgewater controlled the boards by a 47-38 margin with Lehan leading the way with 12 rebounds. Lam just missed a double-double as she grabbed nine boards. Carey filled up the stat sheet for the Eagles as she finished with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals to go along with her eight points.
The Eagles shot just 30.2 percent for the game, making just 19-of-63 shots. Bridgewater’s defense, however forced 19 turnovers and limited the Hornets to just 31.7 percent from the floor on 19-of-60 shooting. From 3-point range, Shenandoah made just 3-of-21 attempts.
The Eagles return to action Saturday afternoon with a road trip to Roanoke College. Game time is set for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.
EAGLES NOTES: After being held to just six points in a loss to Randolph-Macon, sophomore guard Briana Moore has bounced back to score 40 points in her past two games.
Senior guard Jessica Lam continues to climb the all-time scoring chart at Bridgewater. Lam now has 1,078 points to move into the No. 16 spot on the Eagles’ career scoring list. Next in line is Diana Beard with 1,082 points.
Junior center Kaitlyn Lehan blocked four shots against the Hornets to bring her season total to 47. Lehan now ranks fourth all-time at BC with 124 blocks.
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