Bridgewater, Va.- Women’s basketball held their own throughout their match-up against the Hornets on Jan. 18, but fell short in the fourth, unable to clench the win. 

The Eagles started off strong in the first as first-year Riley Corcoran won the tip-off. Junior post Jaden Alsberry scored the first goal of the game in the paint and allowed Bridgewater to take a 2-0 lead. 

The first quarter brought out impressive skills on the court as sophomore guard Abby Branner spun around defenders and made the score 6-3 for the Eagles. Junior guard Abby Freeman scored an easy lay-up off of a fast-break to make the score 12-10 in favor of the Hornets. 

Sophomore Rosemary Pierson scored the final points for the Eagles in the first to tie the score 12-12. RMC hammered back and gained a point off of a free throw, and won the quarter 13-12. 

“So far it has been a tight match-up. I think this is one of the best matchups for Bridgewater,” said spectator James Mabry. “I like the way that Jaden Alsberry is playing, Erika Nettles has been posting up well and Riley Corcoran has been playing well as well. India Dailey is moving the ball well. I think if they can keep that up, it should be a good one.” 

The Eagles boomed at the start of the second quarter as Corcoran scored the first points with an energetic jumper in the paint. Freeman followed up with another fast break and layup to make the score 16-13. 

“A lot of our outside shots weren’t following, but we got it in the post and I think that’s where we got most of our points tonight,” said Branner. 

The Eagles and the Hornets continued to go head-to-head throughout the entirety of the second quarter. Dailey scored a three with a minute forty left in the half to make the score 24-22 in favor of Bridgewater. The final score of the second ended in a standoff at 26-26. 

“Overall I think we played pretty well,” said senior guard Jasmyn Pierce. “We kept hustling when things got tough. We didn’t give up, the bench tried to encourage everyone. When we made a mistake, we tried to get back and not dwell on the mistake as much.” 

The start of the second half began the same as the first as the Eagles continued to pressure RMC. The Eagles scored 14 points in the third with a 55% successful field goal rate. 

Dailey showed off her practice-learned skills with astonishing defense at the box. Pierson also showed off her skills with an impressive hook shot to make the score 37-34. The Eagles finished the third just one point behind Randolph-Macon at 41-40. 

“I think we really stuck together as a team which is what led us to go on runs like that,” said Branner. “We just lost it at the very end. Good teams go on runs. We’re a good team, they’re a good team, and we just ended up coming up short.” 

Bridgewater gained the first score of the final quarter with a layup by Dailey, however, the Hornets pounded back with a 15-point run to make the score 57-42 in favor of RMC. The Eagles scored the next four baskets, but it was not enough to make a comeback. 

The game ended with a score of 57-46 and a tough loss for the Eagles. 

“It was a rough game. I think we did good throughout the entire game,” said Pierce. “Towards the end it got rough and we kind of fell apart a little bit. We can work on boxing out more, talking on defense, and not getting beat on defense too.” 

The Eagles are set to play Virginia Wesleyan on the road on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m.