Brittany Snyder (Raphine, Va./Riverheads) scored a career-high 20 points as the Eastern Mennonite University women's basketball team opens the 2008-09 season with a 81-55 non-conference win over Mary Baldwin College Tuesday night in Staunton, Va.

The Fighting Squirrels, also competing in their first game of the year, fall to 0-1.

"Once we settled down we were able to focus and execute," explained head coach Kevin Griffin. "We got into foul trouble early on, but the team was able to compose themselves and play hard in a hostile environment."

The Lady Royals had 11 players reach double-figures in minutes played. Senior forward Kathleen Kitchen (Gainesville, Va./Brentsville District) scoring a career-high 17 points. Miranda Wolfe (Verona, Va./Fort Defiance) came off the bench for EMU and notched eight points while pulling down a team best nine rebounds.

Danielle Scott (Summit, NJ/Summit) scored eight points and was 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.

EMU was down by six (8-2) early in the first half as the Fighting Squirrels got buckets from Christine Hamilton and Sabrina Desper. A long ball by Snyder and baskets from Kitchen and Wolfe gave the Lady Royals their first lead of the game with 15:23 on the clock (9-8). The deficit for Mary Baldwin continued to grow in the half as Marla Young (Fishersville, Va./Wilson Memorial), and Snyder hit back-to-back three-pointers with Julie Young (Fishersville, Va./Wilson Memorial) also adding a basket.

The visiting team pushed their margin to as high as 21 points before settling in with a 43-25 advantage heading into the break. Both Snyder and Kitchen were already in double figures at the half with Marla Young ending the first frame of her collegiate career with six points.

Mary Baldwin was paced by Desper who tallied 10 points.

The Lady Royals continued to improve upon their lead in the second half as buckets by Snyder and Melissa Lewis (Stuarts Draft, Va./Stuarts Draft) put EMU up 54-31. Second half performances by Snyder (nine points), Scott (six points) and Ebony Dennis (Baltimore, Md./Western) with six points, helped seal the win for the visiting team.

Lewis finished with seven points, and two assists. Both Lewis and Dennis had five swipes for EMU which totaled 24 steals in the game.

The Lady Royals will stay on the road as they travel into Maryland on Friday, November 21, to compete in the Frostburg State University Tournament.