Harrisonburg, Va. – The Lady Royals (16-6, 11-6 ODAC) were playing for a shot at the top seed in the fast approaching Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament as they hosted Guilford College (17-5, 14-3 OCAC) in a match-up between two of the top three teams in the ODAC. Guilford with a 14-3 record in the ODAC is currently tied with Emory & Henry (17-5, 14-3 ODAC) for first place in the ODAC and are ranked third in the NCAA South Region.

Both teams shot the ball extremely well in the early moments of the game as the Royals built an eight point lead with 13:19 left in the first half. The Royals connected on 10 of their first 13 attempts with Senior Emily Mullet (Harrisonburg, Va./EMHS) leading the way with back-to-back three-point baskets and a lay-up to score eight points in the first six minutes. Freshman Carrie Grandstaff (Luray, Va./Mt. Carmel Christian) connected on a three-pointer of her own while freshman Stephanie Mathews (Woodstock, Va./Central) connected on two jump shots and recorded a steal to help the Royals take the early lead forcing the Quakers to call timeout with 13:16 left in the half.

The Quakers came out of the timeout and forced the action in the paint and were rewarded with two trips to the foul-line in less than a minute. Guilford tied the game 25-25 on two made free-throws by freshman Jennifer King and took the lead on their next possession with 8:49 left to play in the first half. Guilford got hot from the three-point line in the final five minutes of the first half as the Quakers connected on three shots from downtown to take a 10 point lead with 3:53 remaining in the first half. But the Royals cut the Quaker's lead to five points after Freshman Amanda Renalds (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) connected on two free throws to start a 9-4 run. Grandstaff followed Renalds free-throws up with a three-point basket, then made the first of two free-throw attempts, and connected on a short jumper just outside of the lane with four seconds left in the first half cutting Guilford's lead to 44-39 heading into the locker room. The Quakers shot a blistering 56.3% from the floor in the first half while the Royals shot 48.4% in the first half.

EMU carried their momentum into the second half as the Royals opened up the half with a 15-2 run to take an eight point lead with 15:19 left to play. Freshman Laura Ludholtz (Mt. Crawford, Va./Fort Defiance) and Grandstaff combined for 11 of the Royals 15 points in the run. Grandstaff started the run with a lay-up then Ludholtz sped through the passing lane picking off a Quaker pass and was fouled after scoring on a breakaway lay-up. Ludholtz connected on the ensuing free-throw to tie the game 44-44. Grandstaff and Ludholtz scored on alternating possessions with Mullet and Mathews each picking up baskets in the run as the Royals took a 54-46 lead with 15:19 left in the game. But the Royals lead was soon trimmed to two points and Guilford took the lead with 9:10 left in the second half. The Quakers went on a 19-2 run over the next two minutes connecting on six of eight attempts from the free-throw line during the two minute span while building a nine point lead. The Royals got within four points with 3:55 left to play, but poor foul shooting and missed lay-ups hurt EMU as Guilford made their free-throws in the final two minutes to win the game by a final score of 81-79. The Quakers connected on 19 of 26 attempts from the free-throw line while the Royals hit just 9-20 from the charity stripe. EMU will try to get back on track as they host Emory & Henry Saturday February 15, at 4:00pm in another big game.

Grandstaff led the Royals with 19 points while Emily Mullet added 15 points with three three-point baskets. Mathews recorded a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds and Renalds finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Ludholtz added 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.