Eastern Mennonite University held a 13-rebound edge on the boards and took advantage of free throw opportunities in a 52-45 victory over Roanoke College in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference women's basketball opener for both teams on Tuesday evening in Salem, Va.

EMU (3-1, 1-0 ODAC) led 23-17 at the half and the lead never dipped below six in the second period. EMU extended the lead as high as 13 and led by 12 at 52-40 with 34 seconds left before RC (2-2, 0-1 ODAC) scored the final five points of the game to account for the 52-45 final.

The Lady Royals outrebounded the Maroons 39-26 for the game and connected on 22 free throws in 31 opportunities (71.0%). EMU converted nine more free throws than the Maroons attempted to account for the difference as RC went 11-for-13 (84.6%) at the line.

Both teams struggled shooting from the floor and had trouble controlling the basketball. EMU shot 31.8% (14-of-44), made 2-of-8 three-point field goal attempts, and committed 27 turnovers. Roanoke, meanwhile, shot 32.6% (15-of-46), struggled from long-range while hitting just 4-of-19 three-point tries, and committed 28 turnovers.

Senior center Amanda Renalds (Bridgewater, Va.) led all scorers with 24 points and added seven rebounds. She was one of few players who shot well in the game, going 6-for-9 from the floor and hitting all 12 free throw opportunities. Senior guard/forward Stephanie Mathews (Woodstock, Va.) had her second straight double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds while adding three assists and five steals.

Sophomore forward Erin Hanson (Blacksburg, Va.) had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field with two blocks and three steals for the Maroons. Freshman forward Maria Migliarese (Roanoke, Va.) came off the bench to score 11 points while going 5-for-5 at the charity stripe.

EMU returns home for a non-conference game on Saturday at 2 p.m. against the Hornets of Shenandoah University.



Newspaper Box Score
Eastern Mennonite vs Roanoke
11-29-05 7:00 at Salem,VA
At Salem,VA
EASTERN MENNONITE 52, ROANOKE 45
EASTERN MENNONITE (3-1, 1-0)
RENALDS, Amanda 6-9 12-12 24; MATHEWS, Stephanie 2-12 6-9 11; JONES, Tara
2-5 1-4 6; KRATZ, Jolene 2-3 0-0 4; BOWERS, Stephanie 1-3 1-2 3; POWELL,
Dana 0-4 2-4 2; STEELE, Kathleen 1-4 0-0 2; MADDEN, Mandee 0-1 0-0 0;
SOWELL, Johnna 0-2 0-0 0; SEWARD, Megan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-44 22-31 52.
ROANOKE (2-2, 0-1)
HANSON, Erin 4-6 2-2 12; MIGLIARESE, Maria 3-5 5-5 11; MCGRAW, Cindy 3-12
1-2 9; KELLY, Veronica 3-7 3-4 9; MORRISEY, Stephanie 1-7 0-0 2; REYNOLDS,
Lindsay 1-3 0-0 2; ROGERS, Brittany 0-1 0-0 0; BRIDGE, Torri 0-0 0-0 0;
KELLER, Sara 0-1 0-0 0; SHOWALTER, Ashley 0-0 0-0 0; NESBIT, Ashley 0-2 0-0
0; JOHNSON, Brittany 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 15-46 11-13 45.
Eastern Mennonite............. 23 29 - 52
Roanoke....................... 17 28 - 45
3-point goals-Eastern Mennonite 2-8 (MATHEWS, Stephanie 1-2; JONES, Tara
1-2; POWELL, Dana 0-3; STEELE, Kathleen 0-1), Roanoke 4-19 (HANSON, Erin
2-3; MCGRAW, Cindy 2-8; KELLY, Veronica 0-3; MORRISEY, Stephanie 0-3;
REYNOLDS, Lindsay 0-1; ROGERS, Brittany 0-1). Fouled out--Eastern
Mennonite-None, Roanoke-MCGRAW, Cindy. Rebounds-Eastern Mennonite 39
(MATHEWS, Stephanie 13), Roanoke 26 (MIGLIARESE, Maria 6). Assists-Eastern
Mennonite 8 (MATHEWS, Stephanie 3), Roanoke 12 (KELLY, Veronica 3). Total
fouls-Eastern Mennonite 17, Roanoke 23. A-219