WINCHESTER, Va. – Bridgewater College took control with a 17-0 first-half run and then withstood a strong Shenandoah rally in the second half to take a 61-52 victory Tuesday evening in Old Dominion Athletic Conference women's basketball action.

Bridgewater (7-6, 2-3 ODAC) trailed 14-9 with 11:42 left in the first half, but Shenandoah (5-9, 1-4 ODAC) went nearly nine minutes without scoring during a 17-0 Bridgewater run.

Oshene Kelly worked inside for two buckets and Cassidy Burkholder made 1-of-2 foul shots to pull Bridgewater even at 14-14. Jessica Lam then connected on 1-of-2 from the foul line to give the Eagles their first lead, 15-14, with 8:12 left in the first half.

The Eagles continued to pad the lead as inside buckets by Burkholder, Lam and Kelly pushed the advantage to 21-14. Burkholder made four straight free throws and Lam made 1-of-2 from the line, giving the Eagles their biggest lead of the half, 26-14.

Breya Wallace finally broke the Hornets long scoring drought with a hoop with 1:52 left in the half. Morgan Kuhns knocked down a 3-pointer for the Hornets before a layup by Burkholder with nine seconds left sent the Eagles to the locker room with a 28-19 lead.

The Eagles stretched the lead to 14 points in the second half when Jessi Strom knocked down a 3-pointer for a 42-28 advantage.

A layup by Burkholder kept the lead at 14 before a furious Shenandoah run trimmed the margin to one point. The Hornets outscored the Eagles 16-3 to trail 45-44 with 6:20 left.

The Eagles responded as Burkholder hit two free throws and Heather Cantrell converted a three-point play, giving Bridgewater a little breathing room at 50-44.

After a bucket by Shenandoah's Holly Chittenden, Kelly put the Eagles back in control with three straight baskets. Twice the Eagles beat the Hornets pressure for a 2-on-1 break and each time Strom dished to Kelly for an easy layup and an eight-point Bridgewater lead. Kelly added another bucket after grabbing an offensive rebound, giving the Eagles a 10-point, 56-46 lead with 3:07 remaining.

Burkholder paced the Eagles with 19 points. Strom and Kelly each scored 12 points and Lam added 10. Chittenden's double-double paced the Hornets as she finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Bridgewater shot 44.4 percent from the floor, making 20-of-45 shots. The Eagles narrowly lost the battle on the boards by a 40-38 margin. Kelly and Burkholder each reached double digits as Kelly grabbed 13 rebounds and Burkholder pulled down 10.

The Eagles return to action Saturday afternoon when they host Randolph College. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.