EMU's women ended the Saturday's game on a 16-5 streak to beat Berry College by a final of 78-63.  The Royals tied their highest scoring output of the season as they improved to 3-1.

Eastern Mennonite went 2-0 at the Roanoke Tip-Off Classic in Salem, Va., as they prepare for Tuesday's big ODAC opener at home.  The Royals, winners of at least a share of four straight regular season ODAC titles, host preseason favorite Lynchburg College Tuesday night at 7:00pm in Yoder Arena.

It was an ominous start against Berry, however, as the Vikings scored first and jumped to an 11-2 lead.  The Royals then caught fire from outside, hitting a trio of three pointers and getting three more points when Jess Rheinheimer (Manheim, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) was fouled on a long ball and made all of her free throws.  EMU closed the first period on a 17-7 tear to lead 19-18.

The women held a small edge for much of the second until Berry scored the final six points to lock things up at halftime, 31-31.

The Vikings worked a lead to as many as five points in the third, but EMU struck a 10-0 to flip the deficit to a 52-47 advantage. 

Rheinheimer then scored the first five points of the fourth period to make for a 60-50 lead.  Berry would get within four at 62-58, but the Royals scored on four straight possessions to blow open a 70-58 cushion.  They kept on the heat, holding the Vikings to just five more points over the final 6:52, for a surprisingly large margin.

The women had a decided edge in shooting, 45.6% to 38.2%.  EMU also made two more triples than Berry, while also going 18-21 from the free throw line compared to just 5-7 for the Vikings.

Rheinheimer finished with 26 points and five rebounds.  Sa'Mone Moore (Covington, Va./Covington) was good for 14 points and three assists, while Lindsey Krisak (Alexandria, Va./Edison) added 12 points and three assists.

Zarriah Pierce had 16 points and four assists to lead Berry.  Valerie McLure added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.

All-Tournament Team
Jess Rheinheimer was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Roanoke Tip-Off Classic.  The forward averaged 20.5 points, shooting 14-for-25, to go with 8.0 rebounds.  Lindsey Krisak was also named to the Team, as she found her outside shot, finishing 8-for-17 from outside.  The freshman averaged 17.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists for the weekend.