ROANOKE, VA --- When Lindsey Krisak (Alexandria, Va./Thomas A. Edison) hit a three pointer just 1:07 into play, no one had an idea what was to come. Led by Krisak and Lexi Deffenbaugh (Fishersville, Va./Wilson Memorial), EMU's women unleashed a nearly historic air attack in rolling to a 72-55 road win at Hollins University Tuesday night.
The duo of sophomore guards combined for 10 triples, as the Royals shot 15-for-34 from outside for a blistering 44.1% clip. Eastern Mennonite scored the first seven points of the ODAC game and never trailed, snapping a three-game skid to improve to 10-8 overall and 6-5 in the ODAC.
If not for an 18-for-39 outburst also against Hollins on Jan. 16, 2016, the Royals would have broken program records with both their 15 makes and 34 attempts. Record or not, the women have been as hot over the last two games as any previous stretch in program history. Combined with a 9-23 effort against Emory & Henry on Saturday, Eastern Mennonite has made 24 of their last 57 three point attempts, shooting 42.1%.
The stretch has also pushed the women back into the ODAC lead in three point shooting percentage at 33.9% as a team, just ahead of Bridgewater College.
Against Hollins (3-17/0-11 ODAC), Krisak got the ball rolling by draining two of four long-range shots in the first frame. The home team had a 10-0 run early in the second to get within 22-20 before Deffenbaugh caught fire. Coming off the bench, Deffenbaugh flushed through four triples, all in the final 2:18 of the half. The hot spell triggered a 15-5 finish, blowing open a 37-25 lead at halftime.
Hollins got within four points in the third, before two more treys late in the frame bumped the margin back up to 51-43.
Kailey Landis (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) hit back-to-back threes, and Krisak added one more, to give EMU a 12-2 start and a 63-45 margin with 6:41 to play, effectively ending any drama.
Eastern Mennonite shot 25-55 from the floor for 45.5%, a great percentage considering they took more than 60% of their shots from outside the arc. They held Hollins to 33.8% shooting and gave up just five free throw attempts.
Deffenbaugh nailed 6-of-8 three pointers and tied her career high with 19 points. She leads the ODAC with a 50% clip from outside, connecting on 27-of-54 shots this season. Krisak was 4-for-9 from long range and scored 12 points with four assists and three steals. She is 9-20 from outside over the past two games and is ninth in the ODAC with a 35.9% mark from three.
Backup point guard Precious Waddy (Richmond, Va./Henrico) had six points, six assists and four rebounds. Myneshia Walker (Freeman, Va./Brunswick) scored nine while Jess Washington (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) chipped in eight. Chrissy Delawder (Broadway, Va./Broadway) had a team high eight rebounds.
Taylor Broyles hit four triples herself and led Hollins with 16 points and eight boards. Keyazia Taylor added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Eastern Mennonite heads to Roanoke (7-12/4-6 ODAC) on Saturday in a matchup with the third best three point shooting team in the ODAC. Game time is 3:30pm.