HARRISONBURG, VA --- It took a few minutes to get going, but the Royals were in complete control in an 81-44 win over Hood College Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg. EMU's basketball women have now won four in a row as they end the first half of their season at 7-2.
The women have 11 days off before their next game, a non-conference affair at Mary Baldwin College on Dec. 31. That game in Staunton, Va., has a 2:00pm start.
Even with students gone with the end of final exams the day before, the Royals played in front of a great crowd of 806 bolstered by Alumni Appreciation Day. Along with the debut of the EMU Pep Band, the women had a lot of support from the stands.
Still they had a slow start. Sa'Mone Moore (Covington, Va./Covington) drained a triple on the first possession, but they held a low-scoring edge of 5-4 after more than four minutes of play. The final 5:33 of the first period was a different story, however, as the Royals exploded. Defensively, they held Hood (4-7) to a single free throw while they put in 12 points on the offensive end. EMU led 17-5 at the first break.
They kept rolling in the second, with Moore's layup at the 4:05 mark providing the largest margin of the half at 34-15. The lead was 40-23 at halftime.
Eastern Mennonite effectively finished things off in the third, using a 26-12 period score to push the margin to 66-35.
The bench played most of the fourth, and Precious Waddy (Richmond, Va./Henrico) hit a free throw with 1:00 to play, notching the all-important 79th point to give everyone at the game free ice cream at Klines.
The Royals dominated all stat categories, including a 42% to 28% shooting edge and 47-35 rebounding margin. The women forced 31 Hood turnovers despite making 29 of their own.
Moore was assertive from the opening tip and racked up a career high 22 points. She shot 4-for-8 from three point range and also attacked the bucket to add a pair of three-point plays. Jess Rheinheimer (Manheim, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) went 9-10 from the free throw line en route to her 17 points. The forward added six rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots.
Myneshia Walker (Freeman, Va./Brunswick) also had five steals as EMU picked 17 as a team. Jazmine Carter (Fairfax, Va./Oakton) had six points and five rebounds to lead a balanced bench effort. Jourdyn Friend (Richmond, Va./Meadowbrook) added four points and five boards in just eight minutes of action.
Alexis Andrukat scored 13 points to lead the Blazers, who were hampered with foul trouble. Verkia Smith had a game high seven assists to go with seven turnovers before she fouled out.