SALEM, Va. — The Averett University women's basketball team ran away with a 76-72 victory over Roanoke College on Sunday afternoon at the C. Homer Bast Center.
 
Sophomore shooting guard Samm Chandler drilled two free throws to give Averett (2-0) a 74-71 lead with 16 seconds left in regulation. Down by just three points, Roanoke (0-1) had a chance to take the last shot and tie the game. Instead, after just 4 seconds, Roanoke's Kelsey Smith launched a quick 3-pointer that sailed past the basket, forcing the Maroons to foul.
 
Sophomore guard Joelle Deese split the bonus, and the Maroons found themselves with another opportunity to at least put the game within one point. Roanoke concocted a play with a series of screens to give Jamella Foster a back-door lay-up, but her shot, contested by Averett defenders, hit the corner of the rim. Cary Beahm grabbed the offensive board and a foul sent her to the line. She notched one and purposely missed the second, but this time Averett came away with the ball at the 5-second mark and Chandler knocked down a free throw to seal the win.     
 
"We battled the whole game. Roanoke never got a huge lead on us," Averett head coach Liz Hickey said. "We stayed very composed and communicated well in the last minute-and-a-half and made foul shots at the end."
 
The first half was a back-and-forth rally between the two squads that ended with the Cougars trailing 33-28 at the halftime. Averett brought its high-energy defense and full-court press to force turnovers, including six in the first quarter, and when Roanoke made it to their end of the court, they connected on buckets in the paint while the Cougars worked the perimeter and shot from mid-range. Deese provided a spark off the bench for Averett with 12 first-half points.  
 
"Joelle came in and had a big game for us, especially in the first half when we weren't really doing that well," Hickey said.
 
Roanoke maintained its lead for the majority of the third quarter, but Chandler hit Deese on the right wing for a 3-pointer to put Averett ahead 44-43 with 2:22 left to play in the third quarter as the momentum began to shift towards to Cougars. Deese hit four of Averett's seven shots from behind the arc and scored a career-high 16 points for her second consecutive game in double-figures.
 
Chandler struggled from the outside in the first half, so she worked her way inside for the remainder of the game to take high-percentage shots. She shot 10-for-15 from the field to put up 27 points in the second half and finish with a career-high 31 points while also hauling in 11 rebounds for a double-double. Chandler's performance marks the second time she's put up 30-plus points, and she tied her career-highs of six assists and three blocks and also added two steals.     
 
Junior guard Ariana Covington registered 11 points and eight rebounds for Averett as freshman point-guard Alixis Roccia put up 10 points. Senior Oneka Jones and freshman JayTee Daniels showed a big presence in the post with eight and seven rebounds, respectively.
 
The Cougars return to action this weekend at the Marymount University Tournament in Arlington, Virginia. They will take on Messiah College on Friday, Nov. 20, at the 5:30 p.m.