HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Royals women's basketball team played in front of their home crowd for the first time this season and gave that very crowd an exciting game. 

Despite falling to the visiting Fighting Squirrels of Mary Baldwin, the Royals put on a display of grit with a final period comeback attempt. The final score of the game was 54-47, putting the Royals at 1-1 on the young season, but an excitement is in the air for the young Royals as they look towards the rest of their season. 

Highlights

• EMU got on the board first courtesy of a Mya Hamlet, but Mary Baldwin quickly answered, putting the score at 2-2. The score would stay there for until the 6:55 mark where Hamlet found Brii Redfearn underneath to put the Royals back on top. 
• Mary Baldwin went on a 6-2 run to finish out the first period, pushing the score to 11-10 in favor of the Fighting Squirrels to finish out the first period. 
• Mary Baldwin commanded the second period, shooting 46.2% from the floor. They outscored the Royals 14-8 in the second period to take a seven-point lead into the half. 
• Hannah Varner sank a layup in the third period to push Mary Baldwin out to a 10-point lead, but Trinity Price quickly gave the Royals life. The first-year sank a layup under pressure, drawing the and-one foul and sinking the free throw to put the Royals back behind seven with just under seven minutes left to play in the third period. 
• Down 41-28 heading into the fourth period, the Royals turned up the heat to play their best ball of the night. A Redfearn made jump shot and two quick three-pointers from Hamlet put the Royals right behind the Squirrels 43-41. Another Hamlet layup and a driving play to the basket from Constance Komara gave the Royals the lead with just over five minutes left on the clock. 
• Mary Baldwin turned it on from there, outscoring the Royals down the stretch to push the score to its final tally. 
• Mya Hamlet and Brii Redfearn continued to impress early in their career. The two first-year guards each notched their second double-double of the year in back-to-back contests. Hamlet had 20 points and 12 rebounds with Redfearn knocking down 16 with 13 rebounds, respectively. 

What's Next

EMU is back in Yoder Arena on Saturday, hosting Lancaster Bible in a non-conference matchup with tip off scheduled for 3:00 PM. 

To keep up to date with everything surrounding the women's basketball program this year follow EMU on Twitter and Instagram, like EMU Athletics on Facebook or visit our website.