Greensboro, NC (01/10/02) -- Guilford's women's basketball team posted its eighth win in nine games by holding off visiting Roanoke, 54-52, Thursday night in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) game in Ragan-Brown Field House. The Maroons (5-4, 4-1 ODAC) whittled a 16-point second-half deficit down to one with 14 seconds left before the Quakers (9-2, 6-1 ODAC) preserved the win with a free throw and a steal.

Senior center Crystal Barrett (Roanoke, VA/Northside) fueled the Maroons' comeback by scoring 13 of her 15 points in the second half. She scored two layups in the final minute, including one with 14 seconds remaining that drew the Maroons to within 53-52.

Guilford senior Erin Beacham (Atlanta, GA/Lovett School) made the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 11 seconds left to give Guilford a two-point cushion. She missed the second shot, which Barrett corralled for her game-high 16th rebound of the game. Out of time-outs, the Maroons raced downcourt for a final shot, but Guilford freshman Courtney Hill (Kannapolis, NC/North Rowan) came up with a deflected Kristina McMillian (Roanoke, VA/Northside) pass in the lane as time expired.

Guilford scored the game's first nine points and streaked to a 32-18 halftime lead behind nine points by Beacham and eight by junior center Shannon Underwood (Niantic, CT/East Lyme). Rookie Aftan Medlin's (Kenly, NC/North Johnston) basket with 17:46 left gave Guilford a 34-18 lead, its largest of the game.

Roanoke slowly chipped away as Guilford struggled shooting in the second half. Senior forward Jill Quesenberry (Willis, VA/Floyd County) scored six straight points during an 8-0 Roanoke run that brought the guests to within 38-32 with 10:46 left. Guilford went scoreless for 3:53 before Medlin ended a 7-0 Maroons' spurt with a 13-foot jumper to give the Quakers a 52-48 edge with one minute left.

Neither team shot especially well from the floor and Roanoke held the Quakers to their lowest scoring output of the season. Beacham led Guilford's scorers for the fifth time with 14 points. Underwood and Hill finished with eight points apiece. Underwood grabbed a team- and career-high 10 rebounds.

Barrett's double-double (15 points, 16 rebounds) paced the Maroons, who lost for the first time in four games. Junior Liz Sloop (Raleigh, NC/Enloe) added 10 points and 12 boards for Roanoke. Junior guard Katrina Williams (Salem, VA/Glenvar) scored nine points and dished out a game-high nine assists, eight in the second half. She entered the game as the ODAC's top three-point shooter (40%), but went 0-7 from beyond the arc Thursday as the Maroons missed all 13 of their three-point field goal attempts.

Guilford has won three of the last four games with Roanoke, although the Maroons maintain a 22-6 lead in the season series.

The Quakers visit Eastern Mennonite Saturday (01/12) in a 4:00 p.m. ODAC contest. The Maroons host league-leading Bridgewater Saturday (01/12) at 1:00 p.m.