Box Score With Bridgewater College only one point away from a tie in the final minute of the game the Eastern Mennonite University women's basketball team got two free throws in the final seconds of the contest to gain a 68-65 home win over the Eagles Tuesday night in Yoder Arena.

Sophomore guard Ebony Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Western) scored 17 points along with 10 boards and seven assists in the win with junior forward Carolyn Riley (Warrenton, Va./Liberty-Bealeton) adding another 11 points and five rebounds for EMU.

BC was paced by local product Jordan Burkholder who led all scorers with 23 points with Jessica Timberlake chipping in nine points along with six rebounds.

The win gives the Lady Royals a 12-3 record overall and a 8-2 mark in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference while the Eagles fall to 5-7 on the year and 3-5 in the conference.

"It was a complete battle towards the end and I'm really proud of the way our team played," said EMU head coach Kevin Griffin following the win. "They (Bridgewater) are a great team and have improved since the last time we played them. They are going to be a handful for other teams down the stretch."

EMU went up by eight (10-2) four minutes into the first half with senior guard Tara Jones (Richmond, Va./Meadowbrook) and Dennis doing most of the damage. BC countered with a trio of layups from Jennifer Saunders, Bianca Booker, and Burkholder in their next three possessions to narrow the lead down to two. The Royals responded with sophomore center Miranda Wolfe (Verona, Va./Fort Defiance) recording a bucket with EMU pushing their lead back up to four.

The lead grew to seven (6:04 on clock) with BC keeping the game close thanks to baskets from Booker and Timberlake. Kristin Bosserman then got in on the act for the Eagles as she laid one in to cut the deficit to two. Bosserman was not done there as she stroked a trey from the top of the key to give Bridgewater a single digit lead. BC took a three point lead into the break with Timberlake adding the final bucket (33-31).

EMU came out strong in the second half with buckets from senior center Jolene Kratz (Telford, Pa./Christopher Dock) and Riley giving the lead back to EMU. The Royals lead grew to three before another run by BC swung the momentum and the game over to the visiting bench. BC led by four with 11:35 left in regulation until the Royals again tied it with Wolfe and sophomore forward Lele Shumate (McDowell, Va./Highland Co.) scoring a pair.

"Our bench was fantastic tonight with Lele (Shumate) and Brittany Snyder (Raphine, Va./Riverheads) both playing their tails off and giving us good minutes in the second half."

The lead changed hands three times in the next three minutes with EMU eventually pulling away with Snyder hitting a big three-pointer from the corner. Riley added two free throws and then a jumper to increase the margin to six with the Lady Royals pushing it up to 10 points (3:43 on clock) thanks to a trey from Dennis. Dennis finished the game 4-for-4 from behind the arc and 6-of-9 from the field.

With less than three minutes remaining the Eagles mounted their comeback attempt with Burkholder dropping in four baskets from the charity stripe. Burkholder continued to try and put the Eagles on top as the Turner Ashby High graduate hit another jumper to close the gap to three with 1:32 remaining. Rebecca Henderson followed with another bucket on the Eagles next possession, putting EMU up by only one, with the Eagles sending the Lady Royals to the free throw line. Riley and then Dennis each hit one of two with the Eagles having one more shot to tie with 12 ticks left on the clock. BC drove down the court with Timberlake sending up a last ditch effort that bounced off the side of the glass, closing out the win for EMU.

"The turning point in that half was getting some big baskets from Riley and our defense just continuing to pressure them and trying to wear them down," added Griffin. "Melissa Lewis (Stuarts Draft, Va./Stuarts Draft) made adjustments to what they were trying to do on offense and I'm proud of how well we rebounded throughout the game."

Jones and Snyder each finished with 10 points for EMU with senior guard Dana Powell (Roanoke, Va./Northside) adding seven points and two steals.

Henderson had four points, seven rebounds, and five blocked shots for the Eagles.

EMU will take the rest of the week off as the Lady Royals will get ready for the Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan to head into Harrisonburg, Va., on Tuesday, January 29, for a 7 p.m. ODAC game.