Bridgewater College scored just nine points in the second half Tuesday evening as Eastern Mennonite pulled away from a five-point halftime lead for an 84-36 ODAC victory at Yoder Arena.
Eastern Mennonite (15-6, 10-3 in the ODAC) jumped out to a 7-3 lead early in the opening quarter before buckets by Eagles’ guards Jessica Lam and Sydni Carey knotted the score at 7-7. After Myneisha Walker hit one foul shot, Jess Washington tallied on a short jumper for a 10-7 EMU lead.
Lam then hit two free throws and Rebecca Harvey worked the paint for a layup, giving the Eagles an 11-10 advantage. EMU’s Chloe Roach tied the score with a free throw, but Carey knocked down a 12-footer with 15 seconds left to put the Eagles on top 13-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Roach sandwiched a pair of layups around a bucket by Lam to tie the score at 15-15 early in the second quarter. The Royals inched ahead as Walker and Washington added hoops for a 19-15 EMU advantage with 6:23 left in the quarter. Harvey worked the baseline for a layup, but Washington hit a short jumper and Lexi Deffenbaugh added a 3-pointer for a 24-17 Royals’ lead.
Roach tacked on two free throws to push the margin to nine before Tyler Pinder snapped the Eagles’ scoring drought with a baseline jumper to cut the deficit to 26-19 with 3:49 on the clock.
After a free throw by EMU’s Jonae Guest, Bridgewater reeled off eight straight points to pull even. Kara Campbell hit a short jumper and Lam connected from 3-point range to edge the Eagles to within three, 27-24. Lam then chased down a long rebound at the defensive end and dribbled the length of the court and converted a three-point play, tying the contest at 27-27 with 2:03 remaining.
The Royals then closed the half with five unanswered to sieze the momentum. The Royals made 3-of-4 free throws and Roach converted an Eagles’ turnover into a layup with just six seconds left in the half to send the hosts to the locker room with a 32-27 lead.
The third quarter was a nightmare for the Eagles as they endured a six-minute scoring drought to start the quarter. Eastern Mennonite scored 16 points during the Bridgewater dry spell to take a 48-27 lead. Allie Coburn scored with 3:47 left to break the Eagles scoring drought.
The Royals then outscored the Eagles 10-2 during the remainder of the quarter to take a comfortable 58-31 lead after three quarters of play.
Bridgewater turned the ball over five times in the third quarter and made just 1-of-15 shots from the field.
Lam was the only Eagles’ player in double figures as she finished the contest with 16 points with 14 coming in the first half.
Walker scored 18 to lead the Royals and Washington posted a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Roach also scored 17 points for the Royals.
Bridgewater (13-9, 6-7 in the ODAC) is back in action Saturday afternoon when the Eagles make the long road trip to Emory & Henry College. Game time is 2:00 p.m.
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