Jenny Logan was all smiles.
Sure, the Luray graduate who left the Bulldogs girls basketball program as its all-time leading scorer was happy to win her Eastern Mennonite coaching debut Tuesday. But it was the things she saw from her Royals during a season-opening 69-41 win over Apprentice School inside Yoder Arena that had the former Bridgewater College standout beaming.
鈥淚t felt great,鈥� said Logan, who replaced Kevin Griffin atop the EMU women鈥檚 basketball program during the offseason. 鈥淕oing into today, obviously, I wanted to win. But I don鈥檛 think I could have asked for a better situation.鈥�
That situation was getting strong play from her starters after the first-game jitters wore off, evident by a first-quarter 6-for-16 shooting performance and a sloppy up-tempo game that resulted in 22 turnovers. But once the Royals (1-0) got into their set offense, the shots began to fall. From there, it trickled down for the Royals as Logan used a pull-away second 10 minutes 鈥� shooting 9-for-19 鈥� to empty her bench a bit and give her younger players a chance to 鈥渒nock the dust off.鈥�
Led by Lindsey Krisak鈥檚 team-high 14 points, including four 3-pointers, the Royals had the luxury of going to their younger lineup that saw freshmen Lexi Dean, an East Rockingham graduate, and Constance Komara, a former Harrisonburg standout, get pivotal playing time.
Dean booked four points and added five rebounds and two blocks in over 15 minutes of floor time with Komara scoring nine points in just under 13 minutes of play.
鈥淭he thing that makes [Dean] so special is her feel and her ability to move around the basket,鈥� Logan said. 鈥淎nd Constance has a beautiful shot, it鈥檚 textbook. She just needs to get that experience a bit and settle down in the game.鈥�
Logan鈥檚 veterans, however, led the way against the out-manned Builders, who dressed only seven players on the trip from Newport News.
Senior forward Jess Washington added 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting and junior Chrissy Delawder, a Broadway graduate, added 11 points on 4-for-7 from the field to go with Krisak鈥檚 double-digit effort.
鈥淚鈥檓 just taking what they give me at this point,鈥� said Krisak, who also dished out a team-high five assists. 鈥淎lso trying to create for my teammates and come together as a unit.鈥�
Delawder, who booked a double-double with 11 rebounds, said the sloppy first quarter in which the Royals shot a paltry 6-for-16 was all thanks to those first-game nerves, something the team talked about before taking the court for their season opener. Also a factor: the Royals played one scrimmage all preseason and that happened in October.
鈥淚t was nice to get out there and play against a different opponent other than ourselves,鈥� Delawder said.
The opponent 鈥� the Builders 鈥� didn鈥檛 find its groove until the third quarter when Apprentice School finally managed a scoring spurt, going on a 10-0 run against EMU鈥檚 younger lineup. By that point, however, the Royals had built a 26-point lead that the Builders whittled down to 17 before a Dean putback and a Krisak jumper put the brakes on.
By the time Komara hit her first collegiate field goal 鈥� a fourth-quarter 3 from the elbow 鈥� Logan鈥檚 first win at EMU was well in hand.
鈥淲e talked about it before the game,鈥� Delawder said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the same tradition, even with a new coach, but it鈥檚 the beginning of something new.鈥�
Logan, meeting with recruits and then shaking hands with well-wishers after the victory, said the improvements in ball protection and the up-tempo play will come as the year rolls on.