ROANOKE, Va. - After two strong wins to open up its 2025-2026 season, a young Eastern Women's Basketball squad ran into a tougher opponent on Saturday evening. In the opener of the Jean Beamer Tip-Off Classic, the Eagles fell to host Roanoke College 85-52.

The Eagles rallied from an early six-point deficit in the first quarter and headed into the second frame trailing by just one point at 15-14. However, the Eastern offense went cold in the second quarter. The Maroon outscored the Eagles 28-10 to turn their one-point lead into a 43-24 advantage at the halftime break. Eastern would not come closer than 16 points the rest of the way. As a team, the Eagles shot just 18-of-70 (25.7 percent) from the floor and seven-of-31 (22.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

First-year center Tychelle Gordon played the best game of her rookie season to date, recording her first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive glass. The Clermont, Fla. native shot five-of-eight from the field and four-of-seven from the charity stripe. Jeriyah Johnson scored seven points, while Damiyae Moyet and first-year guard Ariyana Hester each finished with six.

Eastern (2-1) will be back in action tomorrow at 1:00 pm against Hollins University.