The Women's Basketball team competed in the second day of the Susan Dunagan Holiday Classic hosted by Roanoke College on Saturday night. The Chargers faced the host Roanoke College Maroons and lost by a score of 64-85. The Chargers fall to 2-10 overall and 0-2 in the United East, while the Maroons improve to 8-4 overall and 3-2 in the ODAC.
How it Happened: The opening minutes were off to a low-scoring start as the Maroons held a 5-0 lead at the 8:04 mark when a driving layup by Raven Hunter put the Chargers on the board. After Roanoke added another five points, Alaysha Iwais put a jumper in to bring the score to 10-4 in favor of the Maroons. The teams then traded baskets until Jenna Dombach put in a three-pointer before making a pass to Isabella Eufemia for a layup to bring the score to 14-13. Rose Sande had a last-second shot to put the Maroons up 20-17 at the end of the first quarter.
Natalie Wenger was the first to strike in the second quarter when she sank a layup off a pass from Hunter. Roanoke put in a layup before Jenna Dombach sank a three to tie the score at 22. After a pair of free throws for Iwais, Dombach added another three to bring the Charger lead to 27-22 and to pass the 700-point mark for her career. The back-and-forth scoring continued in the second quarter, with the score reaching 37-32 with 4:11 left. Raven Hunter had the next two scores, two minutes apart. Her two layups brought the score to 41-32 with 1:24 left in the half. The Chargers led 45-36 at halftime.
The Chargers scored four in the opening minute of the second half before the scoring went quiet on both sides. The Maroons and Chargers traded baskets for the next four minutes. An 11-point run for the Maroons brought the score to 56-53 with 1:18 in the quarter. Rachel Nolt made a three-pointer before Roanoke made two free throws to end the quarter with the Chargers leading 59-55.
The Maroons took the lead 60-59 at the 8:22 mark and never looked back. The Chargers were unable to get the ball to drop, going 2-12 in the final quarter. Roanoke came out on top with a final score of 85-64.
By the Numbers:
- The Chargers outshot the Maroons in the first half 48.7% to 37.8%
- Roanoke edged out Lancaster Bible, shooting 41.6% to 39.1% on the game
- Raven Hunter and Jenna Dombach each netted 16 for the Chargers while Alaysha Iwais added 14
- There were only two lead changes during the duration of the game
- The Maroons scored 23 second-chance points while the Chargers only scored on five
From the Coach: "As a coach, you have to take responsibility when you make mistakes and I made a big one tonight. The final score is not indicative of the game. We were the better team until Raven fouled out in the third quarter. I have to be better as a coach at knowing that info so I can protect us from those types of costly mistakes. In my opinion, we played our two best games of the year this weekend and are starting to get a sense of what our team identity needs to be. Although the results weren't what we wanted, we made huge steps in the right direction as we get ready to amp up for conference play!" - Head Coach Ryan Carpenter
Information to Know: Jenna Dombach's three-pointer at the 8:18 mark of the second-quarter moved her to 701 career points. She ended the night with 16 points to bring her season total to 160 and career total to 706. Raven Hunter was named to the All-Tournament Team. Hunter finished the weekend with 36 points, 17 rebounds and four assists.
Up Next: The Chargers return to action Wednesday, January 3rd when they travel to Princess Anne, Md. to face the Division I University of Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks in an exhibition game at 6:00 p.m.
