Women’s Basketball: EMU ends season with loss

The EMU basketball women held Roanoke to nine points in the first quarter, but were unable to stop them the rest of the way as they fell 66-55. The Royals finish their season with a 4-20 record overall with a 3-15 record in conference play.

Lexi Deffenbaugh (Fishersville, Va./Wilson Memorial) started the low-scoring first period with a three-pointer set up by fellow senior Chrissy Delawder (Broadway, Va./Broadway). Tiffany Carey (Bedford, Va./Jefferson Forest) made a layup to give EMU a 7-5 lead which they held until the Maroons (17-8/12-6 ODAC) tied it up at nine. Deffenbaugh broke the tie by making a jumper just before the quarter buzzer.

The second quarter was back-and-forth until the score was nodded up at 19. Then Roanoke used a five-point run to take the advantage with 1:45 to go before halftime. A three by Delawder got the Royals within one point as they trailed heading into halftime 24-23.

The third quarter is where the Maroons pulled away. They started on a 9-2 run that was halted by a Deffenbaugh triple, but a made three by Roanoke snubbed that as they continued to add points carrying a 47-38 lead into the fourth quarter.

Three pointers by Constance Komara (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) and Deffenbaugh kept the game within five points down the stretch. Chloe Roach (Leesburg, Va./Tuscarora) made a layup to keep pace with the Maroons as they still trailed by five with 3:25 to play. But three unanswered buckets by Roanoke gave them an eleven-point lead entering the final minute of play to seal the deal.

The Maroons held the slight advantage in shooting at 43.8% (28-64) compared to EMU’s 37.7% (23-61). Roanoke used their size to their advantage as they outrebounded the Royals 47-33 and scored 40 points in the paint while staying out of foul trouble.

Delawder finished as the game’s leading scorer with 13 points to go with eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Roach finished with 12 points and Deffenbaugh scored 11.

Whitney Hopson had a double-double for Roanoke with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

This was the final collegiate game for seniors Chrissy Delawder and Lexi Deffenbaugh as they finish their careers with 100 total games played while averaging over 20 minutes per game each season.