SALEM, Va. – The Albright women's basketball team was unable to overcome a third quarter shooting slump as they fell 66-51 to Roanoke in the Jean Beamer Tip-Off Classic on Sunday. At the conclusion of the tip-off weekend, seniors Gabby Boggs and Brady Wassel were named to the All-Tournament team.
 
With the loss, the Lions fall to 1-2 overall while the Maroons advance to 2-0.
 
Senior Abby Gaffney led the Lions in scoring with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Boggs posted a double-double with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and a game-high 15 rebounds. Wassel added 12 points as well as she shot 4-for-10 from the field and grabbed eight boards.
 
Albright got off to a strong start opening the game on a 10-3 run and forcing an early timeout by Roanoke. The Maroons finally got within one point of the Lions with a layup at the 2:19-mark of the first quarter. Roanoke took the 15-14 lead on their next possession with a steal and a layup in transition. A pair of free throws from senior Emma Blewett put Albright back in front, but the Maroons took the lead once again and never looked back. Roanoke closed out the first quarter with five unanswered points to claim a 20-16 lead. The Lions struggled to score at the start of the second quarter as the Maroons went on an 8-1 run over the span of 4:43. Boggs and Gaffney scored on back-to-back possessions to get Albright back within seven. The two teams battled back-and forth but Roanoke closed the quarter out with a last-second three-pointer to hold a 39-29 lead entering the break.
 
Albright struggled to find their rhythm on offense in the third as they shot 3-for-14 from the field coming out of the half. Their three made field goals came within the first three minutes of the quarter, then Roanoke closed out the quarter on an 11-2 run to pull ahead 56-37 entering the fourth. Boggs opened the final stanza with a pair of free throws and a layup to cut the Lions deficit to 15. Unfortunately for Albright, Roanoke responded with three consecutive baskets to take their largest lead of the game at 21 with 6:00 remaining. Albright attempted to chip away at their deficit by outscoring Roanoke 14-10 in the final stanza, but were unable to rally as they suffered a 66-51 loss.
 
Albright shot 17-for-52 (32.7%) from the field, 3-for-13 (23.1%) from beyond the arc, and 14-for-22 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Roanoke shot 25-for-58 (43.1%) from the field, 2-for-12 (16.7) from the three-point line, and 14-for-21 (66.7%) from the free-throw line. The battle on the glass was almost split as the Lions held a slight 38-37 rebounds advantage.
 
The Lions return to the Bollman Center for their home opener against Cabrini on Thursday at 7 p.m.