Win puts women 2nd in ODAC

Stephanie Mathews' 21-point outing spurred Eastern Mennonite University to a 54-50 win over Washington and Lee University in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference women's basketball game on Tuesday night in Harrisonburg, Va.

EMU (14-5, 10-4 ODAC) pulled out to an early 18-11 lead with 11:25 remaining in the first half before hitting a cold spell. W&L (10-10, 6-9 ODAC) evened the score at 21-21 with 3:22 left in the half as EMU made just one field goal in eight minutes. The Lady Royals led 29-25 at halftime.

The Generals tied the score at 34-34 with 15:39 remaining in the game but never gained the lead in the second half. With the Lady Royals clinging to a 46-44 lead at the 5:39 mark they put together a quick 6-0 burst thanks to two free throws by freshman Dana Powell and layups by Mathews and junior Deanna Brubaker. Leading 52-44 with 3:14 remaining, EMU held off W&L the rest of the way for the 54-50 win.

Mathews, a sophomore forward from Woodstock, Va., had her fourth double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds. It was her first double-double in seven games and highest scoring output in 11 games. She played all 40 minutes, made 4-of-8 three-pointers, dished out two assists, and had two steals.

Junior forward Amanda Renalds had 10 points, five boards, and two steals for EMU. Senior point guard Shantee Bryant had six points, four rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

Senior guard Bethany Dannelly had 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals to lead W&L. Junior guard Louisa Feve also had a strong outing with 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

EMU will continue its stretch of four games in six days with another ODAC home game on Thursday against Lynchburg College at 7 p.m.