Balance was again the key, as the deep EMU women took over in the second half and grabbed an 85-78 road win from preseason favorite Randolph-Macon. The Royals put five players in double figures and iced the win from the free throw line.
The two teams battled evenly in the opening minutes, still being locked in a 13-13 tie seven minutes in. R-MC then dumped in eight straight to skip ahead 21-13. The home team led by as many as 10 points before the Royals cut to within two at the break, 38-36.
The Royals found their stride in the second, going back and forth with R-MC. A lay-up by freshman Raiven Patterson (Pulaski, VA/Pulaski) put the women up by five at 58-53 with 9:10 to go.
Although the Yellow Jackets quickly came back to tie the score, EMU pushed the edge to eight after a steal and lay-up from Patterson made it 71-63 with 3:01 remaining.
Randolph-Macon got no closer than six before being forced to foul over the final minute-and-a-half. The women converted 12 of 16 free throws over that stretch and forced a key turnover with 20 seconds left to help ice the seven-point victory.
Although EMU had 25 turnovers to just 14 for the Yellow Jackets, they made up for it by shooting 46% from the floor and controlling the boards by a decisive 54-33 edge. Eastern Mennonite was also 25-32 from the free throw line.
Patterson continued to be a leader off the bench, topping the women with 18 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. Bianca Ygarza (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) dumped in 15, including a 7-7 performance from the stripe.
Sara Lamneck (Swoope, VA/Buffalo Gap) had 12 points and eight rebounds while Stephanie Rheinheimer (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) also had 12 counters. Kala Yoders (Myerstown, PA/ELCO) had 10 points and six boards. Shakeerah Sykes (Portsmouth, VA/Forest Park) made her presence felt with a game high 12 rebounds.
The Royals did a good job defending All-ODAC First Teamer Maggie Roy, who was just 5-of-18 from the floor. She finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Sarah Parsons was a force off the bench, leading all players with 25 points.
Eastern Mennonite is now 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. R-MC slips to 1-3 and 0-1. The women continue their march through the top teams in the league, traveling to rival Bridgewater on Monday, Nov. 28. The Eagles were picked tied for third in the preseason poll.