HARRISONBURG, Va. – Eastern Mennonite University’s Chloe Roach lead the Royals with a double-double 19 points and 11 rebounds as Guilford College dropped a Saturday afternoon Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) contest over Eastern Mennonite, 66-59.
A Kate Clark three-pointer evened the score, 7-7, 3:46 into the first quarter. The period featured four ties and three lead changes as both sides remained tight. The Royals claimed a four-point lead with 1:29 left, but the Quakers tied up the contest, 13-13, with seven seconds left to end the period.
Five lead changes highlighted the second quarter as Guilford produced a lead as large as four points 1:28 into the period. Eastern Mennonite climbed back into the lead, with a lead as large as four with 4:08 remaining in the period. Heaven Walters (Elkin, N.C./Starmount) gave the Quakers the lead heading into halftime, sinking a jumper with six seconds left.
The Quakers build on that momentum by amassing an 11-0 run running until the 5:18 mark of the third quarter. Guilford’s lead grew as large as 14 points with 4:08 remaining the in quarter. Eastern Mennonite posted an 11-3 run in response to chop the lead down to six points in the final minute of the period. A Lauren Ramsey (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) lay-up at the buzzer put the Quakers up eight points after three periods.
Guilford’s lead went to nine points with 6:33 left in the fourth quarter, but the Royals erased the lead with an 11-0 run to claim the lead with 3:04 remaining. Eastern Mennonite grew the lead to two possessions with 1:11 left on a 20-2 run and never looked back on the way to victory.
Walters led the Quakers with 16 points on seven-of-15 shooting while pulling down nine rebounds. Ramsey finished with 12 points , representing the remaining Quakers’ player in double-figure scoring, shooting six-of-15 while pulling down eight rebounds.
Jonae Guest added the Royals second double-double, posting 15 points and ten rebounds on six-of- nine shooting while adding four blocks.
The Quakers shot 37.3 percent from the field, including 60 percent in the second quarter. Eastern Mennonite shot 34.8 percent, boosted by 44.4 percent in the fourth quarter after shooting 25 percent in the third period.
The Royals out-rebounded the Quakers, 45-43, thanks to 15 offensive rebounds for Eastern Mennonite compared to 11 for Guilford. The Royals posted a 17-6 advantage on the fast break while the Quakers held a 38-32 edge in the paint while the Royals claimed a 15-8 edge in points-off-turnovers.
The Quakers return home Wednesday, facing Lynchburg College for a key 5 p.m. ODAC contest.