SALEM, Va. -- Cold shooting spells have hampered the Virginia Wesleyan College women's basketball team all season long and Thursday's Old Dominion Athletic Conference quarterfinal tournament game against Roanoke College brought on another one. (Boxscore)

Trailing just 31-25 at halftime at the Salem Civic Center, the Marlins missed their first eight attempts from the field in the second half.  Roanoke hit 5-of-8 in the same span however, opening up a 42-25 lead and creating momentum the Maroons never lost, posting a 70-49 victory.

Virginia Wesleyan (12-14) fell behind by as many as 22 points in the second half, before juniors Shawnee Lewis (Alexandria, Va./Thomas A. Edison) and Beth Ann Boyce (Colonial Heights, Va./Colonial Heights) sparked a brief scoring run that pulled the Marlins with a 54-40 score with 7:10 remaining.

The comeback stalled there however, as the Marlins hit another cold spell, missing their next seven shots, while Roanoke hit 4-of-7, led by Jordan Gholson (Louisa, Va./Louisa County) with five points, to open up a 64-40 lead with 3:06 on the clock.

Roanoke led 22-12 in the first half before Virginia Wesleyan sparked a 13-4 scoring surge that pulled the Marlins with a 26-25 score with 2:57 remaining in the half.  Sophomore Rachael Miller (Sterling, Va./Park View) led the way with five points, including a triple that pulled the Marlins within a point.  Six players scored in the VWC run.

Roanoke recovered on scoring by Kendra Porter (Jamestown, N.C./Dudley) and Rebecca Bays (Roanoke, Va./William Byrd) to open up the 31-26 halftime lead.

Lewis led VWC with 17 points, hitting 3-of-5 triple attempts.  She also led the Marlins with nine rebounds.  Junior Kristen Blalock (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian) and Boyce finished with seven points each.

Nicci Moats (Blue Ridge, Va./Lord Botetourt) scored 11 points in each half to lead Roanoke scoring.  She also pulled down a game-high 18 rebounds.  Gholson backed that effort with 15 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Bays with 11 points.

VWC finished the game hitting just 26% from the field.  Roanoke connected on 41% of its shots, including 47 in the second half.

--AMDG--