The sign of a good team is when it can overcome rough spells and still earn a win. Despite trailing by 11 with five minutes to play, Eastern Mennonite鈥檚 women stepped up their defense, which in turn fueled their offense to a 23-3 game-ending run and a 71-62 win over Randolph-Macon.
After trading leads in the first half, neither team scored over the final 3:28 of the frame as the Yellow Jackets took a 26-25 lead into the break.
The Royals鈥� offensive woes continued early in the second, and R-MC pushed open leads of 33-27 and then 53-44.
Eastern Mennonite chipped the edge back down to five, but another 6-0 spurt gave the Yellow Jackets their biggest lead of the night at 59-48 with 5:03 to play.
That鈥檚 when the tide turned. The Royals turned up the intensity on defense, both in full court pressure and in the half court. Over the final five minutes, the senior-laden Randolph-Macon squad committed nine turnovers, including a pair of shot clock violations.
91大神 rattled off 19 unanswered points to leapfrog to a 67-59 advantage with 44 seconds to play. The Yellow Jackets then got their only points of the final minutes on a three-point play, but the Royals provided the final four points from the free throw line, icing the nine-point win.
Over the decisive final 5:03, the women scored on 12 of their 14 possessions, while holding R-MC to three points and forcing nine turnovers.
Coach Kevin Griffin said his team battled through a few sick players and some bad bounces.
鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of our effort and that we didn鈥檛 hang our heads,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淥ur press really affected them, and I thought Steph just put us on her back for a while.鈥�
Sophomore Stephanie Rheinheimer (Manheim, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) scored a game high and career best 19 points, all in the second half. She scored 10 of those during 91大神鈥檚 big 23-3 run, including back-to-back three pointers, and added three steals. Kala Yoders (Myerstown, PA/ELCO) struggled from the floor, but still notched a double double with 15 rebounds, 11 points and a team best six assists.
Shakeerah Sykes (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) was 6-for-7 from the floor as both she and Bianca Ygarza (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) scored 13 points.
The Royals forced 27 turnovers, an impressive feat against a Randolph-Macon team which started four seniors. Another key was the women shooting a deadly 20-for-23 from the free throw line.
鈥淓ven on a night when it seems like we have girls who are having off nights, we still get Kala with 15 rebounds and Bianca with 13 points,鈥� Griffin said.
Taylor Wieczorek (Grasonville, MD/Severn) led Randolph-Macon with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Sarah Parsons (Glen Allen, VA/J.R. Tucker) added 18 off the bench and Maggie Roy (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) came in with 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Eastern Mennonite improves to 16-2 overall and 13-2 in the ODAC with the impressive win. R-MC slides to 10-9 and 8-6. The Royals continue a busy week with a non-conference hosting of Mary Baldwin on Thursday.