The Royals take over sole possession of first place in the ODAC at 13-1, while Guilford slips one step back at 12-2. Based on two head-to-head wins, EMU also holds the tie-breaker over Guilford should the two teams finished the regular season tied.  Each has two games left before the ODAC Tournament.

Saturday in Harrisonburg, the Royals turned on their defense and never trailed.  They held GC to just two field goals over the opening 12:07 of the game and led 17-7 when (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) converted a three-point play at the 8:09 mark.

The Quakers got within three points at 18-15, but Eastern Mennonite closed the half on an 11-2 surge, capped by a pair of (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) three pointers.

EMU led 29-17 at the half after holding Guilford to just 21% shooting and grabbing 15 offensive boards.

A hot start to the second half pushed the Royals’ edge to 17 points at 37-20, to make a combined run of 19-5 with the end of the first.  Even after a small GC run, Eastern Mennonite had the lead back at 50-33 after a (Myerstown, PA/Eastern Lebanon County) bucket with 4:36 to play.

With the big lead, EMU slowed down over the final minutes and the Quakers closed on a 14-4 surge, but it was much too late.

Both teams showed a lot of defense in the game, with both offenses shooting just 31% from the floor.  The Royals made the biggest difference on the boards.  They grabbed 21 offensive rebounds and had 53-45 advantage over the best rebounding team in the ODAC.

Yoders provided Eastern Mennonite with their inside presence, co-leading the team with 12 points and two steals.  Rheinheimer gave the outside punch, going 4-for-9 from three point range for 12 counters.

(Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) had a team high nine rebounds.  Brown, (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) and (Pulaski, VA/Pulaski County) each added seven points.

Gabby Oglesby (Winston-Salem, NC/Mount Tabor) had a double double for Guilford, topping all players with 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Jaclyn Nucci (Gambrills, MD/South River) grabbed 10 rebounds and four steals.

The Royals, 17-5 overall, have now won 10 in a row, which is tied with the 1987-88 team for the second-longest streak in program history.  In 1984-85, the Royals won 12 straight.  They head into the final week of the regular season with a big road game at rival Bridgewater Tuesday night.  The Eagles are tied for third in the ODAC at 10-4.  EMU won the previous meeting this season, 57-48, on Jan. 24 in Harrisonburg.

Eastern Mennonite scored a quick lay-up off the opening tip and jumped ahead 6-0.  Less than five minutes into the game, the Royals had surged to a 14-3 cushion and R-MC never recovered.  By halftime, the women had two players scoring in double figures and led 45-27.

The Yellow Jackets shot a little better from the floor in the second half, but EMU kept the offense in high gear and rolled to the 93-68 win.

Not only did the Royals shoot 37-62 from the floor to break their program mark at 59.7%, but they also tied their highest scoring output of the season.  Since scoring a season-low 49 points in a loss to Elizabethtown last Monday, EMU’s offense has been unstoppable.  The women have shot 50% or better in three straight games, all double-digit ODAC victories.

Eastern Mennonite has won six of their last seven games to improve to 10-5 overall and 6-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, tied with Guilford for first place.

Junior (Myerstown, PA/Eastern Lebanon County) led the charge with her first double double of the season, charting 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting along with 11 rebounds.  She added three blocks and three steals for good measure.  (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) broke out of a shooting slump by drilling 5-of-7 three pointers on her way to a season high 17 points.

(Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) added 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists.  (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) was good for 11 points, six boards and three assists, while (Pulaski, VA/Pulaski County) also scored in double figures with 10.

Point guard (Bristow, VA/Brentsville District) had fun setting up her teammates and tied her career high with eight assists.

The Royals held Randolph-Macon to 36% shooting and had a hefty 48-27 control of the boards.

EMU returns home for two key games, starting this Saturday afternoon with Virginia Wesleyan.  The Marlins gave the women their lone ODAC loss, a 66-58 decision in Virginia Beach on Dec. 1.  Then next week Thursday, the Royals host rival Bridgewater College, who is currently 5-1 in the ODAC.

After a tight start to the game, the Royals blew open a big lead.  The women used a 12-5 run to build up a 27-18 cushion.  Then after a Hornet bucket, EMU turned on the defense, forcing four turnovers and a missed shot.  In less than two minutes, the Royals scored nine unanswered points to explode the lead to 36-20.

Lynchburg surged over the final minutes of the half to get within 38-31 at the break, but the women gained momentum right back at the start of the second.  EMU got an offensive put-back from (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) to open the frame, then back-to-back steals and layups from (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) and (Bristow, VA/Brentsville District) to push the lead into double figures.

The Royals dominated the second half, and pushed the lead up to 21 points when (Pulaski, VA/Pulaski County) made the score 61-40 with an offensive put-back with 7:59 to go.  It was coasting from there, as EMU’s defense won the day.

The women forced a whopping 27 turnovers and had a 56% to 41% advantage in shooting.

Seven players scored between seven and twelve points in a balanced attack for EMU.  Ygarza had 12 counters, five rebounds and four assists.  (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) also scored 12.

Baltimore finished with 11 points and three steals, while Brown added nine tallies and four steals.  (Myerstown, PA/Eastern Lebanon County) also had four picks.

Now 9-5 overall and 5-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, EMU stays in a first-place tie with Guilford and Bridgewater.  The Royals play on the road Tuesday, travelling to Ashland to take on Randolph-Macon.

The under-sized Maroons came out in a zone defense and frustrated EMU early on, leading 14-12 at the 10-minute mark.  But a (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) three pointer gave the women the lead and turned the momentum.  A quick 8-0 run turned into a lead the Royals would never relinquish, as they closed the half on a 25-11 run.

The streak continued in the second half, with a (Bristow, VA/Brentsville District) layup at 8:02 creating the largest lead of the game at 67-39.  The bench players finished on the floor, as the women coasted to an impressive 24-point ODAC win.

Roanoke limited EMU’s inside game with the zone, but the outside players picked up the slack.  The Royals, who shot 48% from the floor including 7-for-16 from long range, had three players finish in double figures.  (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) put in 13 points in the first half and finished with 15 and three steals.  (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) shot 6-of-8 from the floor and added 15 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Steph Rheinheimer was good for 13 points with five boards and a two blocked shots.  Freshman (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) also had three steals, while Baltimore dished out a team high four assists.

Eastern Mennonite had a dominating 48-24 edge in rebounding, including 17 offensive boards.  (Pulaski, VA/Pulaski County) led the strong team effort with six rebounds.  She added six points, three assists and two steals.

The Royals have a week off for exams before their next game on Dec. 15, playing at Delaware Valley at 3:00pm.

Coach Kevin Griffin knew he had a talented crew last winter, but with just three upperclassmen on the roster, Griffin didn’t expect the explosion of wins his team earned.

“I was very surprised considering how young we were and what we had lost,” he said.  “Things just sort of fell into place.”

This year the eighth-year mentor returns his top six players, including all five starters.  Griffin acknowledges that returning core triggers an extra layer of pressure.

“It means that expectations are high from ourselves and from others,” said Griffin.  “And it means that we do have experience, which is why those expectations are so high.  I think everybody expects we’re going to be good and so there’s a pressure.  Our schedule is a lot tougher this year, but I think that pressure and schedule can be a good motivator.  At the end of the day it’s basketball and we just need to go play, try to improve and see what happens.”

The Royals return three All-ODAC performers, each of who are entering their junior seasons this year.  Forward (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) exploded to a team-best 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds, all the while coming off the bench.  She was named All-ODAC First Team and All-South Region Third Team by D3hoops.com.

Whether or not Ygarza starts this year doesn’t appear to be an issue to either the player or the head coach.

“The only planned change is that Bianca plays more,” Griffin said of his dynamic player who averaged 22.9 minutes last year.  “It’s hard to define her role.  She just finds a way to score, and finds the ball and rebounds.  We need to find more ways to get her the ball and more minutes without wearing her down.”

(Myerstown, PA/Eastern Lebanon County), the ODAC Rookie of the Year two seasons ago, landed on the All-ODAC Second Team as a sophomore, averaging 12.1 points and 6.7 rebounds.  Small forward (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) hit 39% of her three-point shots and earned Third Team honors with 11.3 points per game.

Starting guards (Bristow, VA/Brentsville District) and (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) return, as does (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park).  Baltimore transferred to EMU last year after one season at Bluefield and ended up among national leaders with a 2.4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.  Brown scored 6.7 a game and became a harassing defender, while Sykes contributed 6.2 points and 4.8 boards in her first season.

(Bassett, VA/Bassett) will be the lone senior on the team this time around and is joined by sophomores (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) and (Pulaski, VA/Pulaski County).  Osei had 3.7 rebounds a game as a reserve frontliner, while Patterson tantalized fans with flashy offense and defense in just eight games early in the season.  Sharpshooting (Goshen, IN/Bethany Christian) hurt her knee in the offseason and will spend this year out of uniform as a student assistant.

Griffin said the experience of his returners is evident.

“Hopefully they are smarter and are more confident and more skilled and realize the opportunity that is in front of them,” he said.  “I do think we’re in better shape and the confidence of some of the kids that played a lot last year is a lot higher, either because they put in a lot of work (in the offseason) or because they played a lot last year.  So it’s made a difference in how they’ve played at the start of practices.”

Adding to the returning core, Griffin brought in another athletic recruiting class to give his team much-needed depth for their up-tempo style.  Two of the newcomers are younger sisters of All-ODAC honorees for the Royals.

“I think that (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) will help us athletically,” Griffin said, “with her ability to defend and her strength.  (Glen Allen, VA/Hermitage) will help as an athlete and can really shoot the ball.  And (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) does a lot of things well.  She can score and has a very high basketball IQ.”

Other new players include: (Fishersville, VA/Wilson Memorial), (Stuarts Draft, VA/Stuarts Draft), (Woodbridge, VA/Garfield) and sophomore Belmont Abbey-transfer (Dale City, VA/Forest Park).

Griffin said that new wave of faces will pay dividends throughout the year.

“I hope we can just play faster,” he said.  “We should have someone to provide relief at every position so some of those kids aren’t playing as many minutes, which will be really helpful come January and February.”

Despite all the returners and talented newcomers, Griffin still needs to replace one key aspect – leadership, which had been provided by now-graduated Marla Young.

“I don’t think we’re going to (replace Young’s leadership),” said Griffin.  “It will be by committee.  What Marla brought you can’t measure in terms of statistics.  In terms of a person and vocal leader, we’re sorely going to miss her.  Just her work ethic was an example for everyone.  I’m hoping some of our returners will step up and be a little more vocal.  I think they will lead by example in terms of work ethic and recognize the value of what Marla brought and fill that void.”

That leadership void will be tested early, as the Royals start the year with a very tough stretch of six games, including contests against tradition powers Kean and Ferrum, nationally-ranked Mary Washington and potentially Messiah, as well as at ODAC heavy weights Virginia Wesleyan and Guilford.  The Marlins tied EMU with an ODAC-best record of 17-3 last year, while Guilford finished third before winning the ODAC Tournament.

Both Eastern Mennonite and the Quakers received votes in the two “official” preseason national polls from D3hoops.com and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Griffin said the impressive non-conference slate should benefit his women.

“I’m hoping what takes place there is that we find ourselves,” he said, “and that we are tested but not crushed, so that when we hit the rest of our league schedule we are prepared.  We have talked a lot about preparation this year, so the point is that 1) we needed games and 2) we needed to be better prepared.”

The Eastern Mennonite women open the year at the Messiah Tip-Off Classic, taking on Kean on Nov. 16, followed by either Messiah or Methodist the following day.  The Royals host Ferrum on Nov. 24 for their home opener.

The win pushes Eastern Mennonite women to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the ODAC.

After EMU got the first bucket of the game, the Hornets took over and led by as many as ten in the first half at 25-15.  Sophomore (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) then canned a three pointer to start the women on their comeback.

Lynchburg got a bucket but (Fishersville, VA/Wilson Memorial) nailed a triple and (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) followed with a three-point play to slash the lead to three points.  An offensive putback and another layup capped a 13-2 run as the Royals took the lead for the first time since the opening minute.

The Hornets settled down and retook the edge, heading into halftime on top 38-37.

EMU pushed the tempo to start the second and skipped back in front.  A Young layup made it 58-52 with 12:28 to play.

The visitors slowed the game down, but couldn’t get their offense going.  With 3:49 remaining, the Royals called a timeout.  The defense then earned back-to-back steals to quickly balloon the lead to 73-64.

Lynchburg got within three after a three-point play with 1:38 to go, but the Royals forced three straight turnovers and turned each into a score to ice the 81-72 decision.

Coach Kevin Griffin said the Hornets’ record is deceiving.

“That’s the best 1-8 team in America,” he said.  “They execute well, they play really hard, and have a bunch of kids that can shoot the ball.”

Both teams hovered around 40% in shooting for the game, but EMU earned the win by getting to the free throw line in the second half and forcing turnovers down the stretch.  The Royals were 17-27 from the line compared to just 5-9 for Lynchburg.  The women also had a 19-11 edge in turnovers.

Ygarza led a balanced attack with her second straight double double – 19 points, 13 rebounds and three steals.

“Bianca was amazing tonight, especially with no turnovers,” Griffin said.  “But I thought it was big that we had five kids in double figures.  In the first half Marla was the spark for us.  In the second Raiven was the spark.”

Young hit a pair of three pointers in the first and finished with 10 points and three assists.  (Pulaski, VA/Pulaski) had 11 points and three steals, all in the second half.

(Bristow, VA/Brentsville District) had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.  Rheinheimer finished with 10 and (Portsmouth, VA/Forest Park) added nine counters.

Katie Crump led Lynchburg with 16 points.  Shannon Allan charted 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The women, now 8-1 for the season, have a week off before traveling to Washington & Lee next Tuesday.

Daryl Bert, vice president for finance, opened chapel by praising the tireless efforts of Bruce Emmerson, food services director for Pioneer Catering, which operates 52 kitchens nationwide.  Emmerson, who was named Pioneer’s “rookie of the year,” in 2007 and “director of the year,” in 2011, has continuously improved the quality of services that are offered to the students, faculty, staff and visitors of EMU, said Bert.

“I have appreciated how seriously Bruce takes feedback from our community by personally, wittily and publicly responding to feedback cards in the cafeteria,” said Bert. “I am always amazed at how quickly Bruce implements themes from the survey forms into the food service experience in the cafeteria…

“I believe this attention to quality is validated by the large number of faculty and staff that join students in the cafeteria for lunch on a daily basis.”

Byron Peachey, associate campus pastor, said: “Anytime I’ve needed to work with Bruce or Ramona [Lantz] with special catering needs or events, they are adaptable and easy to work with, willing to take on special events such as the Late Night Breakfast… The food is always consistently delicious and varied.”

EMU routinely hosts outside groups, conferences and youth camps over the summer which adds to Emmerson’s schedule. LeDayne McLeese Polaski, program coordinator for the Baptist Peace Fellowship also praised the work of Emmerson and Matthew Hunsberger, Lehman Auditorium facility technician, in a written statement to Bert.

After stating that her Fellowship puts EMU at the top of the list, Polaski added: “I would be remiss if I did not mention the excellent work of Matt Hunsberger and Bruce Emmerson… They are true professionals who go above and beyond the call of duty to provide excellent service.”

Below is a list of students who were honored at the chapel ceremony for academics, athletics and community service.

Fall Season

Men’s Cross Country:

Dan Nafziger: ODAC Athlete of the Week (Sept. 1-5), All-ODAC Second Team, All-South/Southeast Region First Team, NCAA National Championships participant

Field Hockey:

Nicole Bencsik: All-ODAC Second Team

Jenessa Derstine: All-ODAC Third Team

Valerie Landis: ODAC All-Tournament Team, All-ODAC First Team

Adriana Santiago: ODAC All-Tournament Team, All-ODAC First Team

Men’s Soccer:

Barkot Akalu: All-ODAC Third Team

Kevin Chico: ODAC All-Tournament Team, All-ODAC First Team

Ryan Eshleman: ODAC All-Tournament Team, CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District Team, All-ODAC First Team

Mitchell Leap: ODAC Player of the Week (Sept. 19-25), ODAC Player of the Week (Oct. 3-9), ODAC Player of the Week (Oct. 24-30), All-ODAC First Team

Brent Yoder:    All-ODAC Third Team

Women’s Cross Country:

Katie Eckman: All-ODAC Second Team

Women’s Volleyball:

Tabitha Bowman: CUA Guetle All-Invitational Team

Brittany Childress: EMU Hampton Inn & Sleep Inn All-Invitational Team

Winter Season

Men’s Basketball:

Owen Longacre: Marymount Tip-Off Tournament All-Tournament Team

Women’s Basketball:

Raiven Patterson: EMU Tip-Off Classic Most Outstanding Player

Kala Yoders: All-EMU Tip-Off Classic Team

Intensive English Program

Fanty Polanco

Maria Pena

Jihoo Park

Academic Support Center-Tutors

Stacy Kinkaid

Haleigh Hershberger

Lyubov Slashcheva

Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival nominations

Elizabeth Gannaway

Julia King

Justin Rittenhouse (alternate)

Jamie Hiner (stage manager)

Pastoral Assistant Recognition

Mitchell Stutzman – 1.5 years as pastoral assistant

Nursing Department Outstanding Service Award

Rebekah [last name omitted on request]

Student Government Association

Hannah Patterson, Senator

Joel Choi, Senator

Louise Babikow, Senator

Brittney Wenger, Senator

Katrina Goering, Senator

Daniel Sigmans, Treasurer

Nels Åkerson, c0-President

Kevin Griffin said he’s been asked why his two leading scor­ers — Bianca Ygarza and Raiven Patter­son — don’t start, but the Eastern Men­nonite University women’s basketball coach just shrugs it off.

The seventh-year coach admits it’s an unusual arrangement, but after opening the season 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, he’s not going to mess with something that works, regardless of how unconventional it may be.

“It’s just what has worked, and I was­n’t going to change it after the start we had,” said Griffin, who picked up his 100th career win Saturday against Hollins but paid for it when his players soaked him with a guerilla cooler-dunking in the locker room afterward.

EMU and its uptempo, run-oriented offense leads the ODAC in points per game at 80.7, more than six ahead of secondbest Virginia Wesleyan, which averages 74.2.

NCAA national rankings were not updated on the organization’s website Monday, but if the Royals had averaged 80.7 points per game last season, they would have ranked third out of 424 D-III teams. And, again, they’re doing this while starting games with their two best scorers on the bench.

Griffin — whose substitutions are more like line changes, as he rotates about 10 players — said it has to do with keeping the right personnel combinations on the floor: mixing youth and age, experience and inexperience, quiet and vocal.

Apparently, the players don’t mind.

“When you start, that’s your chance to get everyone excited,” said Patterson, a 5foot-8 freshman forward. “But when you come off the bench, that’s your chance to just observe everything, and it’s kind of easier because you can make up for what other people’s mistakes were.”

Patterson, despite being a reserve, is second on the team in points, averaging 11.2. She’s also shooting 52.8 percent (28of-53) from the floor and averaging 5.8 rebounds.

Ygarza, a 5-8 sophomore guard and Patterson’s fellow sub, leads the Royals in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game while shooting a white-hot 65.9 percent (27-of-41) from the field. She’s also grabbing 8.2 rebounds and making 88.2 percent (30-of-34) of her free throws.

As a team, EMU is shooting 44.7 percent (178-of-398) from the floor — tops in the ODAC.

“We do have tons of speed, but it’s not like we’re blowing teams out because we’re just fast break after fast break after fast break,” said 5-10 sophomore forward Kala Yoders, the 2011 ODAC Rookie of the Year. “I feel like we have the potential to do that, but I feel like we wear teams out in the second half because we do have such depth and other teams only have their six or seven people, and we just keep going at them.”

But EMU isn’t just about out-scoring the other team. It has the best defense in the ODAC, limiting opponents to just 52.7 points per game. The Royals also lead the conference in steals, averaging 15.7 per game. Those, they turn into instant offense in their fast-break happy, all-run style.

“It’s a mindset,” Ygarza said. “You’re on defense, and coaches talk about this to us. ‘You need to get frustrated when a girl scores on you. That should make you [mad].’ The girls, we keep talking about this and stuff. Play with your heads, play your hardest and don’t worry about where the points come from how many points you get.”

Of course, it helps when you’re winning.

The Royals have even knocked off defending ODAC champ Randolph-Macon, winner of six of the last nine titles. In that game, an 85-78 victory on Nov. 22, Patterson had 18 points and Ygarza had 15. And they did it, surprise, coming off the bench. “They’re comfortable with it,” Griffin said. “We’ve talked to them about it; we’ve talked to the other kids about it. I’m not one that usually tries to fool with that a whole lot. Let’s leave it as is.”

People might even stop asking questions.

After the women scored the first four of the game, they used an 11-2 run to spark to a 15-8 lead.  But the Eagles then clamped down on defense and held EMU scoreless for nearly six minutes.  The home team rattled off 14 straight to go ahead 22-15.

The two played evenly into halftime, with BC holding a 31-25 edge at the break.

The opening minutes of the second were rough on the Royals, as the Eagles pushed their lead to the biggest of the game at 39-27.

But Eastern Mennonite’s tempo started to wear down BC and with the deficit at 44-32, the comeback began.  (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) finally knotted things up at 46-46 with a layup with 7:07 remaining.  (Fishersville, VA/Wilson Memorial) canned a three pointer, EMU’s first, on the next possession, giving the women their first lead since the first half.

(Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) drilled a big three and (Swoope, VA/Buffalo Gap) put in a bucket to push the edge to 56-49 with 3:13 to play.

The women then forced BC into a number of tough shots down the stretch as the lead never got below six.  Rheinheimer made 4-of-6 free throws to help ice the win.

Ygarza was a personal wrecking ball, as she charted a double double with game highs of 18 points and 15 rebounds.  She also had seven steals and three assists.

Rheinheimer was clutch down the stretch and finished with nine points.  Young had seven points and Lamneck added six with five rebounds.  (Pulaski, VA/Pulaski) was good for six rebounds and three steals.

Eastern Mennonite effectively reversed the shooting percentages from the first half, holding the Eagles to just 28% in the final 20.  Neither team shot particularly well, with EMU coming in at 37% and BC at 36%.  The Royals had the biggest edge at the free throw line, going 13-20 compared to 7-13 for Bridgewater.

The women harassed Jessica Mullen to an 8-for-22 shooting night, as she led the home team with 17 points and six steals.

It was a key win for the Royals, who improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  EMU is the lone undefeated team left in the league, and rest atop the ODAC standings with Guilford at 2-0.

Next up is a home date with traditional power Roanoke on Wednesday.  The Maroons have struggled to a 0-3 start.