HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Women's Basketball Team (3-1, 1-0 ODAC) led wire to wire Saturday afternoon as it opened Old Dominion Athletic Conference play with a 73-64 win over Eastern Mennonite University (1-2, 0-1 ODAC). The Wasps went 16-for-17 (94.1%) from the free throw line in the victory.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Emory & Henry 73, Eastern Mennonite 64
LOCATION – Harrisonburg, Virginia – Yoder Arena
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (3-1, 1-0 ODAC); Eastern Mennonite (1-2, 0-1 ODAC)
How It Happened
- After nearly two minutes of scoreless basketball to start the game, Emory & Henry scored nine straight to take the lead. EMU trimmed the margin to four on two separate occasions, but E&H would lead 15-9 after 10 minutes gone.
- The Wasps opened the second with a 9-2 run to push their advantage to 24-11 with 6:19 on the clock. Six of the final eight points of the period were scored by the Royals, as Emory & Henry would lead 29-24 at the intermission.
- Coming out of the locker room, E&H freshman guard Peyton Williams (Saltville, Va.) hit a three-pointer to start the scoring but a 7-0 run by Eastern Mennonite cut the margin to 32-31 just one minute later. The Wasps responded with 10 of the next 12 points to go back up by nine, 42-33, and would lead 53-46 with one quarter remaining.
- Emory & Henry built a 12-point advantage midway through the fourth, eight points in the stretch coming from sophomore guard Tessa Johnston (High Point, N.C.). The Royals were able to trim things down to five (69-64) with just under a minute left, but the margin was too much to overcome as senior guard Megan Jacoby (Richmond, Va.) hit four free throws in a 15-second span to seal the 73-64 win.
Coach's Corner
Head Coach Anne Crutchfield – "Eastern Mennonite is a very athletic team and they play hard for the entire game. I thought we showed tremendous toughness in a very physical game. I am very proud of the unselfishness of this team. Each game it seems that someone different is stepping up. It's definitely a total team effort."
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Sophomore forward Taylor Blevins (Abingdon, Va.) led all players with 17 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the year, going 8-for-13 from the field, and adding three assists and two blocks.
- Johnston and Williams put up 11 points each, connecting on a trio of three-pointers while Jacoby notched eight points, 10 assists, two rebounds and two steals.
- Senior guard Asja Jenkins (Richmond, Va.) contributed nine points, two rebounds, two assists and four steals while freshman forward Sydney McKinney (Big Stone Gap, Va.) had seven points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Eastern Mennonite Individual Leaders
- Myneshia Walker led the Royals with 15 points, four assists and three rebounds while Chloe Roach and Lexi Deffenbaugh contributed 13 points each.
- Jess Washington and Chrissy Delawder had eight points each while Washington pulled down seven rebounds.
- Jonae Guest led the Royals' efforts on the glass with 11 rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive end.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry went 25-for-54 (46.3%) on field goals, hitting seven three-pointers while Eastern Mennonite managed just 32.4 percent (22-for-68) from the floor and was an ice cold 7-for-34 (20.6%) in the opening 20 minutes.
- The Wasps led 30-26 on points in the paint and outscored the Royals by a 12-8 margin on the fast break.
- EMU took advantage of 16 E&H turnovers, scoring 19 points while Emory & Henry got 12 points off 12 Eastern Mennonite miscues.
- The Wasps continued to be unselfish with the basketball assisting on 20 of their 25 made field goals (80%) while the Royals only had 12 assists on 22 made buckets (54.5%).
- Emory & Henry held a 37-36 lead on the boards but Eastern Mennonite dominated the offensive glass, 19-10. Second-chance points were much closer, however, as EMU only led 12-10.
Notable
- Emory & Henry opens conference play with a win for the second year in a row. Last season, the Wasps earned victories in their first three ODAC contests.
- E&H defeats EMU for the second straight time after losing the previous 10 meetings. It is the first time since the 2004-05 season that the Wasps have back-to-back wins over the Royals.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry will return home on Wednesday to host Greensboro College in non-conference action at 6:00 p.m.
- The contest will be the first game of a doubleheader at Bob Johnson Court at the E&H men are set to play at 8:00 p.m.
---E&H---
-photo courtesy of Joey Gass