LYNCHBURG, VA --- Shooting 49% from the floor is nice, but if you can't stop the other team it won't get you the win. The Eastern Mennonite women found that out Saturday afternoon at Lynchburg, where the Royals had a nine-game winning streak snapped in a 75-72 loss to the Hornets.
The 75 points was the second most points given up by EMU this season. Randolph-Macon scored 78 in an 85-78 Royals win on Nov. 22. Lynchburg also broke the 70-point barrier in the teams' earlier meeting, which EMU won.
Saturday it was evident from the start that scoring would be the name of the game. A Stephanie Rheinheimer (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) three pointer capped a 10-2 Eastern Mennonite run to push the women ahead 16-8 just 6:45 into the game. But the Hornets came back as the two traded leads. EMU led at halftime, 39-35.
The second half was just as back and forth. Lynchburg used an 8-0 run to take their biggest lead at 61-54, but the Royals scored the next five to trim the edge to two.
The Hornets still led 73-67 with 2:06 left to play before EMU came roaring back. Rheinheimer drilled her sixth triple of the game, and after an LC charge, Kala Yoders (Myerstown, PA/ELCO) went inside and hit a layup to trim the edge to one at 73-72 with just 16 seconds to play.
Shannon Allan (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) put in a pair of free throws for Lynchburg with nine seconds to go, but Alisa Brown (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) had a three pointer blocked in the closing seconds, denying the women a chance to tie the score.
Eastern Mennonite shot 49% in the loss, including a deadly 7-for-13 from three point range. Lynchburg was fractions better, connecting on 54% of their shots and 6-of-12 from long range. With turnovers and rebounds being even, those few extra buckets made the difference.
The Royals wasted a career night from Yoders, as the sophomore was 12-18 from the floor and finished with a career best 25 points. She added six rebounds. Rheinheimer also broke a career mark with six three pointers, going 6-for-9 from outside, and had 18 tallies.
Bianca Ygarza (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) was also a force, coming in with 18 points and seven rebounds. Keyla Baltimore (Bristow, VA/Brentsville District) had six assists and four steals.
Allan led Lynchburg with 25 points on 11-for-18 shooting. The 6-1 freshman also had six rebounds, five steals and five blocked shots.
The loss ends a nine-game winning streak for EMU, as the women slide to 15-2 overall and 12-2 in the ODAC. The Royals are second in the league, behind Guilford which is 11-1. Eastern Mennonite will try to regroup on Tuesday, when they host traditional power Randolph-Macon in Harrisonburg.