BRIDGEWATER, VA --- Eastern Mennonite's women were in control Wednesday night, rolling over rival Bridgewater College on the road, 75-58. The Royals, winners of nine straight, clinch first place in the ODAC and the top seed in next week's tournament. They are now 20-3 overall and 14-1 in the ODAC.
The game was close for the first few minutes, locked in an 8-8 tie at the 17:17 mark. After a spell of nearly four minutes where neither team scored, the women struck a quick 11-0 run, exploding to a 19-8 in just 3:20.
A few minutes later the momentum resumed, as EMU drilled threes from the outside and drew fouls in the paint. The Royals closed the half on a 23-8 to stroll into halftime with a 42-21 lead.
Eastern Mennonite wasn't quite as sharp in the second, and the Eagles hit a couple of shots to slice into the lead. BC's Jessi Strom bombed a three pointer with 14:26 to go to make it a 14-point game at 46-32. But Jess Rheinheimer (Manheim, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) and Shakeerah Sykes (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) combined to score EMU's next eight points, steadying the ship. The Eagles would get no closer the rest of the way.
The Royals ended up being out-shot by a slight 40% to 39%. They made up their winning margin by grabbing 19 offensive rebounds and winning the boards, 43-36. Their nine steals also lead to a +5 turnover margin. Free throw shooting heavily favored EMU, as the aggressive women were 22-31 from the stripe. Bridgewater was a mere 4-5.
Rheinheimer finished with a game high 21 points. Sykes hit another double double with 17 points and 10 boards, including six offensive. Marla zumFelde (Goshen, Ind./Bethany Christian) hit a trio of threes and finished with 11 points, three steals and two blocks. Alisa Brown (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) was good for nine points and five assists.
Heather Cantrell scored 18 points to lead the Eagles. Strom hit four triples for her 12 points.
With Winter Storm Octavia postponing the game at BC to Wednesday, Eastern Mennonite cancelled their non-conference match against Dickinson, which had been slated for Thursday. The Royals will wrap up the regular season at home with Senior Recognition on Saturday, hosting Roanoke College. It is also a Cancer Awareness game, with a donation being collected for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The game is slated for a 2:00pm start. With another round in wintery weather forecasted, however, a decision on game time will be made on Thursday.