HARRISONBURG, VA --- Despite a nice win over No. 7 Whitman last time out, EMU's basketball women still walked into their home opener with a bit of uncertainty. But with Wednesday's 84-62 win over a solid York College program, the Royals proved they should be a force to reckon with again this year.
After a slow opening five minutes, Eastern Mennonite caught fire and roasted the nets at a 47.6% shooting clip, while dominating the boards at 54-28.
Behind some hot outside shooting, the visiting Spartans skipped to a 10-3 lead. FreshmanSa'Mone Moore (Covington, Va./Covington), appearing in her first collegiate game, came off the bench and sparked the Royals with back-to-back threes. The rest of the team joined in and put together a 27-6 run to vault EMU in front, 30-16.
York hung around the rest of the half, and scraped to within 36-27 at intermission.
The women's hot play kept up in the second, as three straight layups quickly put the lead back in double figures. EMU didn't let the Spartans any closer than 13 points after that, as they cruised out to the 22-point win.
Jess Rheinheimer (Manheim, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half adding a game high 11 rebounds for a double double. Shakeerah Sykes (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) charted 14 along with three steals. Moore had 10 points in the first half, and drained four triples en route to a 15-point debut.
Rheinheimer and Alicia Ygarza (Conestoga, Pa./Penn Manor) each had four assists, while Ygarza added eight rebounds. Marla zumFelde (Goshen, Ind./Bethany Christian) knocked down a trio of threes, finishing with nine points.
Katie Wagner led York with 20 points and three steals. Sam Mocniak added 12 points and Sam Hruz had eight boards.
The Royals improve to 2-1 on the year and stretch their home winning streak to 19 games. EMU has the weekend off but the women stay at home next Tuesday when they host Mary Baldwin College next Tuesday. Game time in Yoder Arena is 6:00pm.
Coach Kevin Griffin talks about Moore triggering his team as they open the year 2-1: