Date: Saturday, January 31 , 2009
Contact: Robert Dignazio / Sports Information Intern
(804) 752-7387, robertdignazio@rmc.edu

 20-6 Deficit Not Enough to Halt Yellow Jacket Winning Streak; R-MC Defeats Bridgewater 75-65
(Box Score)

Bridgewater, Va. - R-MC defeated Bridgewater 75-65 on Saturday afternoon to pick up an ODAC road victory. Bridgewater jumped out to an early 20-6 lead seven and a half minutes into the game, but R-MC rattled off the next 18 points to take a 24-20 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the first half. After R-MC tied the game 15 seconds into the second half, the Yellow Jackets never trailed again. R-MC shot 50% from the field and from behind the arc in the second half to outscore the Eagles 46-34 in the final twenty minutes of play. Molly Ariail netted 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds while Lindsay Riesbeck tallied 20 points and nine rebounds. BC's Jordan Burkholder led the Eagles with 18 points.

 BC's Emileigh Lambert opened scoring with a layup to give the Eagles a 2-0 advantage. Bianca Booker's jumper seven minutes later put the Eagles ahead 20-6 with 12:35 remaining in the first half. R-MC's Renee Stein was fouled on the next possession and sank the first of a pair of free throws. This marked the beginning of an 18-0 Yellow Jacket rally. Molly Ariail led the way, netting eight points in less than seven minutes. Linday Riesbeck tallied four, while Katie Williams and Maggie Roy also contributed with points of their own. Stein added a pair of free throws to give R-MC a four-point lead with 4:25 remaining in the first half. Burkholder ended BC's eight-minute-long scoring drought with a jump shot to pull the Eagles within four points. BC's Jenny Logan added a layup in the final seconds of the half to give the Eagles their first lead in more than six minutes. R-MC trailed 31-29 at halftime.

 As soon as the Yellow Jackets fell behind, they pieced together yet another scoring run, this time outscoring the Eagles 10-0 in the opening minutes of the second half. Williams sparked the R-MC rally with a layup, Molly Ariail followed with a field goal, and Amanda Hiltunen hit a three-pointer to put the Jackets ahead by five points. Ariail added three more points to give the Yellow Jackets a 39-31 lead. R-MC never trailed again. The Yellow Jackets gradually widened their lead as another Hiltunen three-pointer put R-MC ahead 60-50 with 9:25 remaining. Renee Stein's jump shot with one minute remaining set the score 75-60 to seal the victory.

 In addition to improving their shooting in the second stanza, R-MC only committed seven turnovers in the final twenty minutes of play while forcing the Eagles to 15 turnovers. The Yellow Jackets netted 21 points off BC turnovers in the second half.

 R-MC (14-4, 11-2 ODAC) remains a half-game behind Roanoke (16-2, 12-2) in the conference standings. The Yellow Jackets return to action when they carry a 10-game winning streak to Randolph College (2-13, 2-11 ODAC) on Tuesday. Game time is set for 7 PM.

                                            - Yellow Jackets -