HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Eastern Mennonite University women's basketball opened the New Year with a 71-56 victory over visiting Lynchburg College. The Lady Royals stayed undefeated at 7-0 with the victory.

EMU (7-0, 4-0) jumped out to a 9-2 lead early in the first half only to have the Hornets cut into that lead with a 6-0 run. The Hornets (2-5, 0-4) took the lead on the next possession as Lacey Currle hit a jumper to put LC on top 10-9. The Lady royals would quickly regain their composure and immediately jump out to a 15-point advantage with 2:40 left on the clock. The Hornets would hit two buckets right before half cutting the deficit to 33-22 at the break.

In the second half, Lynchburg closed the gap to ten points on a jumper by Lori Fletcher. Fletcher led the Hornets with 14 second half points ending the day with a team-high 16 points. EMU, however, would enjoy their biggest lead, a 20-point advantage as Carrie Grandstaff (Luray, Va./Mt. Carmel Christian) would hit a jumper with 5:00 remaining.

EMU closed out the game with good defense as Lynchburg hit just two of their last 12 shots.

Laura Ludholtz (Mount Crawford, Va./Fort Defiance) recorded a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Shantee Bryant (Verona, Va./Robert E. Lee) dished out a game-high nine assists.

EMU will be back in action tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. hosting Roanoke in an ODAC match up. Earlier in the season, EMU came back from a ten-point deficit on the road at Roanoke to win 61-54.