The Eastern Mennonite University women's basketball team had four players score in double figures as the Lady Royals handed Mary Baldwin College a 78-64 loss Friday night in Yoder Arena.

"It was just a complete game for us. We moved the ball around and the pace of the game was where we wanted it, especially in the first half," explained EMU head coach Kevin Griffin following his teams third win of the week.

The Lady Royals are now riding a four-game winning streak as EMU improves to 5-2 on the year with Mary Baldwin falling to 3-3 overall.

EMU jumped out to an early lead in the first half when a layup by senior Jolene Kratz (Telford, Pa./Christopher Dock) put the Lady Royals ahead (19:54 on clock). Baskets by junior Carolyn Riley (Warrenton, Va./Liberty-Bealeton), senior Tara Jones (Richmond, Va./Meadowbrook), and Ebony Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Western) increased the Lady Royal lead to eight points before the Fighting Squirrels could respond.

The EMU lead grew to 15 points before the break on a three-pointer by Riley with the Lady Royals closed out the first half on a layup by sophomore Lele Shumate (McDowell, Va./Highland Co.) on an in-bound from Riley. Dennis led the home team at the half with 10 points and seven assists with Riley chipping in another nine points and four rebounds.

Mary Baldwin had Jessica Carter pacing the squad with seven points. Christy Hamilton had six points at the break for MBC.

Dennis fell one assist short of a double double as the sophomore guard had 14 points, nine assists, and six rebounds in the game.

Riley continued to pour on the offense in the second half as the junior forward added 10 more points to go along with six boards as EMU pushed its lead up to 26 (14:55 on clock). Mary Baldwin lived up to its nickname as the Fighting Squirrels challenged the Lady Royals towards the end of the second half on a layup by Christy Hamilton and a couple of free throws by Kara Hawkins.

Mary Baldwin, which shot only 26 percent in the first half, shot over 50 percent in the second with Carter (11 points) and Hawkins (10 points) each scoring in double figures for MBC. Carter also had four steals for the Fighting Squirrels.

MBC added another layup by Hawkins with Jennifer Dobson drained two shots from the charity strip to move to 12 points of the EMU lead before freshman forward Megan Grove (Greencastle, Pa./Shalom Christian) sealed the win on a turn around jumper from inside the paint.

Jones and Kratz each scored 10 points for EMU with Riley leading all scorers with 19 points. Kratz has now scored in double figures in five-of-six games this season for EMU.

"You can't say enough about the effort we got from Ebony, Carolyn, and Jolene," added Griffin. "Our bench played outstanding and our offense continued to click when Melissa Lewis (Stuarts Draft, Va./Stuarts Draft), Brittany Snyder (Raphine, Va./Riverheads), Miranda Wolfe (Verona, Va./Fort Defiance), or Dana Powell (Roanoke, Va./Northside) entered the game. Tara had another strong game with 10 points in 20 minutes. Other than the turnovers in the first half we kept up the speed of the game, played fast, and spread the ball around."

EMU out rebounded MBC 47-25 while shooting 53 percent from the field compared to 39 percent for Mary Baldwin.

The Lady Royals will take the next week off for exams before closing out the first part of the season with a December 15, non-conference game against Shenandoah University. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.