For Immediate Release March 1, 2000
Maroons Are Texas-Bound
Roanoke Beats Shenendoah, 69-55, in First Round of NCAAs
Roanoke vs. Shenandoah Box Score
SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College women’s basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA basketball tournament with a 69-55 win over Shenandoah on Wednesday night in Salem, VA. The Maroons, who improve to 22-6 on the season, will next play at Hardin-Simmons (TX) on Saturday night. This is Roanoke’s first win in the NCAA tournament since the 1995 season. Suzanne Webb (Narrows, VA/Narrows) scored a game-high 16 points, leading the Maroons to victory in the first ever matchup between the two schools. Webb was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field in the first half and ended the game with a 7-for-10 performance from the field. She also added five boards for the Maroons, who held a 48-41 edge in the rebounding column on Wednesday.
The Maroons took control of the game late in the first half, going on a 9-0 run to take a 13-point lead with just 21 seconds left in the half. The Hornets made two free throws to cut the lead to 11, 37-26, going into intermission. Before the Maroons went on their run, neither team was able to take more than a six-point lead in the half. A Webb layup with 15:01 left in the first half, gave the Maroons a 7-6 lead, a lead they would not give up the rest of the way.
Roanoke used a 10-2 run to open the second half to push the lead to 17 points with just four minutes elapsed in the second half, but Shenandoah was able to cut the lead down to seven with 6:36 left, but could get no closer.
In addition to Webb’s 16 points, RC got 12 from sophomore Crystal Barrett (Roanoke, VA/Northside), who also had 15 rebounds in the contest, marking her 11th double-double of the season. Holly Weber (Stuart, VA/Patrick County) added 11 points for the Maroons, who also got six assists from Carrie McConnell (Radford, VA/Pulaski County) and Cheryl Rhodes (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring).
The Maroon defense was again strong, holding its fourth straight opponent to under 40 percent from the field. The Hornets went a combined 26-of-74 (35.1%) from the field in the game and committed 21 turnovers. The Hornets went just 1-for-13 from behind the three-point line. Shenandoah’s leading scorer, Jill VanGuilder (Suffolk, VA/Nansemond-Suffolk) scored 14 points, as did Ellie Tanner (Wolftown, VA/Madison County), to lead the SU effort.
The Maroons, who are making their 10th all-time NCAA appearance, are now 6-9 all-time in the NCAA tournament and pick up their first national postseason win since defeating Ferrum College in 1995. The Maroons will now play at Hardin-Simmons in Abilene, TX. Hardin-Simmons is currently 25-1 on the season and ranked sixth in the nation in the D3Hoops Online national poll. This will be the first ever meeting between Roanoke and HSU.