The Roanoke College women's basketball team boarded a bus late Thursday afternoon in Salem. Sixty miles east in Lexington, Washington and Lee's squad pulled an identical hitch.

Different starting points, but same destination. It's called Newport News and the NCAA Division III tournament.

Roanoke (23-3) will face McDaniel College (20-6) at 5:30 p.m., and Washington and Lee (18-9) will meet host Christopher Newport (28-0) in the second game tonight at the Freeman Center. The winners will meet in Saturday's second round at 7 p.m.

It's the first trip to the NCAA in 10 years for Roanoke. W&L is crashing the big show for the first time in program history.

Bring it on, the upstart Generals say. So what if they're playing one of the two unbeaten teams left in the nation on its home floor.

''I would like to believe that we'll be able to end that run [tonight],'' said W&L coach Mandy King, seemingly undaunted about her team's challenge against 10th-ranked CNU.

''I think Christopher Newport is the favorite to go to the final four out of this bracket. That said, we love our bracket and we feel like we have a great chance to advance to the Sweet 16 this weekend.

"Christopher Newport has a weapon [All-American guard Chelsie Schweers] in those one-possession games late, but I like my team under pressure better. I would take my team over anybody in that situation. If we can make it a one-possession game, we'll walk out of there with a win.''

Since their history-making victory over Virginia Wesleyan in last Sunday's ODAC tournament title game, the W&L players have been basking in on-campus glory. They're hellbent about not letting their surprising run end now.

''I think now that we've won a championship, the game has absolutely changed and people have to respect us now,'' junior center Felice Herman said. ''And they have to know we're here to win it, not just here to compete. We definitely want to hand them their first loss.''

The Maroons, who are making the program's 11th NCAA appearance, also are extremely confident they can do some damage. Roanoke, which got an at-large bid after being stunned by Virginia Wesleyan in last Saturday's ODAC semifinals, has advanced to the second round four times in 10 trips, and made the final eight in 1991.

''I think we've got a really good shot of really going far in the tournament,'' sophomore guard Kendra Porter said. ''In the ODAC, I think because we were the No. 1 seed we had to win it all, and I think that's why we came out really uptight because we didn't want to lose, and that kinda came back to bite us in the butt.

''It's a second chance to really prove ourselves. We've got to get it done. There are no more second chances anymore.''

Junior guard Rebecca Bays all but guaranteed fans won't see the same frazzled Roanoke club that fell behind 37-21 in the first half and could never catch up in a 52-49 loss to Wesleyan.

''We were like thinking we had to conquer the world, well, we don't have to conquer the world,'' Bays said. "We just have to be ourselves. We had played [25] games, and in one half in one game of our season we didn't play our butts off. Worst half of the season, no doubt. And I don't think it could get any worse, I really don't.''

While the Maroons had to take care of their unexpected weekend hangover on spring break from classes, the Generals have spent much of this week getting pats on the back.

''We were actually surprised about how many people on campus had heard about it,'' W&L junior guard Allie Long said. ''Walking around anywhere right now, everybody has been congratulating me ... people I didn't even know were congratulating me. My teachers have emailed me. There are pictures up about it in the hallways and bookstore. It's incredible.''