LEXINGTON, VA --- Without the second period, EMU's basketball women would have won by five points. But the second more than erased the rest of the game, as Washington and Lee used a 33-11 frame to roll over the Royals, 73-56.
The season-ending loss sinks Eastern Mennonite to the No. 5 seed in next week's ODAC Tournament, meaning the Royals will host a First Round game Monday night against No. 12 Hollins at 7:00pm. A win over W&L would have moved the women up to the No. 4 seed with a bye into the ODAC Quarterfinals.
The winner of Monday night's game in Harrisonburg will take on No. 4 Washington and Lee Thursday at 3:00pm in the Salem Civic Center.
Click here to see the official ODAC Tournament website.
Eastern Mennonite (17-7/10-6 ODAC) built a three-point lead early in the game before the methodical Generals (16-9/11-5 ODAC) held them scoreless over the final four minutes of the stanza. W&L only scored five points during that time, but it was enough to grab a 12-9 lead.
The Royals struggled to put anything together in the second, while Washington and Lee scored on almost every possession. The deficit was a modest 32-20 until W&L scored the final 13 points of the half to balloon a 45-20 margin at the break.
The women came out of the locker room on a tear, scoring eight straight, but that would be it for any runs, as the Generals settled down and kept the margin around 20 the rest of the way.
Washington and Lee held a small edge in most statistical categories, most notably 40% to 33% in shooting and 13-8 in turnovers. The Generals also had 10 blocked shots.
All-American Jess Rheinheimer (Manheim, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) was limited in her touches and scored 12 points. Lindsey Krisak (Alexandria, Va./Edison) added 12 points and three assists off the bench. Jonae Guest (Dumfries, Va./Potomac) earned the start and racked up 10 rebounds, six points and two blocks. Jourdyn Friend (Richmond, Va./Meadowbrook) added seven boards.
Emma Redding put in 18 to lead Washington and Lee. Shelbi Hendricks had 11 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three assists. Paige Corvino added eight boards, four steals and four assists.