Freshman Chloe Roach (Leesburg, Va./Tuscarora) ended her first regular season with a monumental performance against two of the top teams in the ODAC before going into tournament play. With the performance, Roach notched her second Royals Athlete of the Week award and also her second spot on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week.
In the women’s basketball team’s last contest with Lynchburg College, Roach put up a career high 30 points, shooting 63.6% from the floor. She also handed out a career high nine assists. To add to the impressive end to the regular season, she scored 23 points in a 74-67 win at Randolph-Macon. The team has made their name heard in the ODAC. In the preseason, the women were picked seventh in the conference’s preseason poll but finished tied for third heading into tournament play.
Roach feels that her team was special.
“I think that we had a rough start at the beginning,” Roach said. “But after we started to come together as a team and started to win, we realized this was a special group who had an opportunity to do something special that no one thought we could do.” With the impressive year, Roach put herself on the All-ODAC Third Team as a freshman, an impressive feat.
Head Coach Kevin Griffin was impressed with Roach’s performance through the entirety of the season.
“Chloe has made a huge impact on our team and what we have accomplished,” Griffin said. “Her ability to attack the basket has really helped us on the offensive end in many ways. Chloe uses her quickness to attack and then we have other pieces around her that she complements and they all work well together. She has scored and yet even in her scoring has played unselfishly.”
Despite the multitude of accolades and the impressive first year, Roach stays grounded and understands the work it takes to stay on top of her game with the seasons ahead of her.
“I feel like I had a pretty successful freshman year,” Roach said. “I learned a lot and I still have a lot more to learn and work on.” Throughout the season, Griffin saw Roach’s talents, but also took note of her improvements.
“Chloe plays fast with the ball in her hands and has really helped to create openings for other players on our team and she has developed a comfort level with them which has grown as the season has unfolded,” Griffin said.
Roach understands that there are many factors to having a positive experience on the court. Before the ODAC Tournament, she simply stated that she wanted to “focus on the little things and enjoy the moment.”