In a meeting of 2013 NCAA National Tournament teams, Eastern Mennonite set the tone early and then held on for an 82-64 win over Lancaster Bible College.  With the win, the Royals complete their EMU Tip-Off Invitational with a 2-0 record.

EMU forced the Chargers into turnovers on four of their first five possessions to jump to a quick lead.  The defense kept rolling as the basketball women pushed the lead to 18-5 just 8:32 in.

The Royals led by as many as 20 in the opening frame, and were up 44-28 at halftime.

LBC cut the lead to 10 early in the second, but a quick 16-3 run inflated the biggest cushion of the night, 60-37 with 14:56 to go.  The Chargers slowly whittled back into the game, getting within single digits at 67-58 with 6:15 left, but Eastern Mennonite scored on their next seven possessions to establish control for the final 82-64 margin.

The women showed their depth, as their bench outscored LBC's 49-0.  They also forced 27 turnovers and held the Chargers to 39.6% shooting.

Shakeerah Sykes (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) was one of three Royals in double figures, as she hit 16 points and tied for the team high with three assists.  Alisa Brown (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) added 14 points, three assists and three steals.  Marla zumFelde (Goshen, Ind./Bethany Christian) canned a trio of three pointers and scored 11.

Nora Osei (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) grabbed six offensive rebounds and finished with a game high 11 boards to with nine points.  Becky Barrett (Damascus, Md./Damascus) added eight points and five caroms.

EMU shot 45.7% from the floor and had a 41-35 advantage on the glass.

Aubrey Folger led Lancaster Bible with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Shanice Smith charted 18 points and nine rebounds.

Sykes was named to the All-EMU Tip-Off Invitational Team for her play over the weekend.  The junior averaged 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals on 60% shooting in just 17.0 minutes per game.

After averaging 83.5 points over their season-opening wins at home, Eastern Mennonite hits the road for a big test on Wednesday, playing at York (Pa.).  The Spartans finished 20-7 last year and were effectively No. 29 in the D3hoops.com preseason poll.  Game time in York is 6:00pm.