Four Lady Royals scored in double figures as the Eastern Mennonite University women's basketball team improved to 9-3 overall and 5-2 in the conference with a 71-62 win over Washington & Lee Tuesday night in Yoder Arena.

The loss drops the Generals to 4-8 on the season and 3-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Junior forward Carolyn Riley (Warrenton, Va./Liberty-Bealeton) lead all scorers with 20 points and pulled down seven boards. Senior center Jolene Kratz (Telford, Pa./Christopher Dock) had her first double double of the season as she scored 15 points while grabbing 12 rebounds.

Bethany Ridenhour had a team high 19 points for the Generals with Kaitlyn Kamp adding another 12 points to the W&L attack.

"The second half was huge for us and I could not be more proud of their effort and the way they kept battling throughout the game," commented EMU head coach Kevin Griffin following the win.

The Royals jumped out to an early three-point lead (5-2, 18:26 on clock) before shooting woes eventually opened the door for Washington & Lee to take a commanding 10 point lead on a layup by Ridenhour. The Generals continued to keep the Royals at bay as Ridenhour had 10 points in the half with Kristen Krouchick adding another nine points.

"Washington & Lee gave us problems all night with their ball screens and Ridenhour played a great game for them," added Griffin.

The lead grew to 12 points before EMU began to slowly chip away and bring the gap down to three-points by the half thanks to a trey by senior guard Tara Jones (Richmond, Va./Meadowbrook). Riley had 11 points in the first half to lead the team.

The second half proved to be all Royals as the home team quickly went up by three points with only 2:02 off the clock. Washington & Lee kept the margin to a minimum as the Generals got buckets from Kamp and Amanda Kane midway through the half.

EMU slowly began to expand their lead as a layup by Kratz and baskets by Riley and sophomore center Miranda Wolfe (Verona, Va./Fort Defiance) pushed the lead to 14. EMU held onto the double digit lead until the final two minutes of the game. Jones went to the free throw line for EMU and drained both attempts to give the Royals a 10 point advantage with less than a minute remaining.

Sophomore guard Ebony Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Western) had 18 points, eight boards, and six assists to go along with three steals. Jones finished with 10 points while Wolfe had eight points and eight boards off the bench for EMU.

"Miranda was unreal, I can't say enough good things about the way she played tonight," said Griffin. "Carolyn was again solid and Ebony and Jolene played a big part in this win. Defensively, we really played well in the second half with Melissa Lewis (Stuarts Draft, Va./Stuarts Draft) playing a big part in that."

The Lady Royals shot only 37 percent (12-32) in the first half but finished the game shooting 41 percent thanks to a 46 percent (14-30) shooting performance in the second frame. EMU out rebounded Washington & Lee 45-29.

The Lady Royals will play their next two games on the road with Guilford College first up for EMU. The Quakers will host the Lady Royals on Friday, January 18, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.