Senior center Jolene Kratz (Telford, Pa./Christopher Dock) hit the go-ahead basket with only five seconds remaining as the Eastern Mennonite University women's basketball team edged out Virginia Wesleyan 54-53 Tuesday night in Harrisonburg, Va.

"Jolene's putback was huge and even before that she hit a big basket to put us up by one towards the end of the game," commented EMU head coach Kevin Griffin. "That is a very good basketball team we played tonight and it is always a battle whenever we match up with them."

The past three games the Lady Royals and Marlins have matched up in have been decided by two points or less with EMU winning all three. Both teams battled to a 54-53 decision back on January 23, 2007, with the Marlins falling just short as a last second three-pointer missed the mark. The win boosts the Lady Royals record to 13-3 overall and 9-2 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference while Virginia Wesleyan falls to 13-5 on the year and 10-3 in the conference.

Carolyn Riley (Warrenton, Va./Liberty-Bealeton) led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor with sophomore guard Ebony Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Western) adding nine points while pulling down nine rebounds.

Tonia Jones led the Marlins with 12 points while Taylor Lowe had eight points and two assists for VWC.

Virginia Wesleyan never trailed in the first half as the Marlins opened up a lead of seven points with over five minutes remaining. A jumper from Kratz cut the lead to five with Maggie Smith responding with layup in the Marlins next possession. EMU was able to head into the locker room trailing only by four thanks to a pair of free throws from Riley to close out the half.

EMU shot only 26 percent (8-for-30) in the first half with Virginia Wesleyan also struggling on offense as the Marlins shot 35 percent (10-for-28).

The visiting Marlins moved their lead up to six points with 15:37 on the clock in the second half and following a brief EMU counter attack, pushed the deficit to eight points with an even 10 minutes remaining.

The Lady Royals did not panic as a jumper by Dennis and two free throws from Dana Powell (Roanoke, Va./Northside) cut the lead in half. EMU continued to pour on the offense as the Lady Royals tied the game at 41 following the eight point run that saw Kratz and Riley also score baskets for the home team. Virginia Wesleyan shot back up on top by five with a trey from Lowe with 2:37 on the clock with EMU and Riley again responding with the junior forward adding two more buckets.

The lead changed hands twice with Virginia Wesleyan up by one with 14 ticks remaining (53-52). EMU drove down the court with senior guard Tara Jones (Richmond, Va./Meadowbrook) just missing in her attempt with Kratz following up with the rebound and the putback to give EMU the 54-53 lead. The Marlins moved the ball down the court with Heather Phillips launching a last ditch attempt from just below the Royals logo that just missed the mark to seal the win for EMU.

"I'm very proud of the way the team played tonight and how they did not panic when we were down by five," added Griffin. "Riley was huge for us again and they did a good job of executing following our timeouts late in the game."

EMU shot 48 percent (14-for-29) in the second half compared to only 33 percent (9-for-27) for VWC. The Lady Royals out rebounded the Marlins 48-30.

The Lady Royals will now head on the road as EMU will take on Randolph College on Friday, February 1, for a 7 p.m. game with the WildCats.