WESTMINSTER, Md. – The EMU Women's Basketball team faced their first DIII competition of the season at the Rebecca Martin Memorial Tipoff Tournament in Westminster, Md., taking on the host school McDaniel College. It was back-and-forth contest in the first half, but the Green Terror pulled away in the second half to down the Royals 63-51.

Graduate student Kayla Surles led all Royals with 16 points on the evening, while Elaina Beckett spearheaded McDaniel's win with 22 points.

Records: EMU 0-1 | McDaniel 1-0

Highlights
First Quarter
Points were hard to come by in the opening 10 minutes, as both teams played great defense and struggled to find their shot. Surles scored the first basket of the game on a mid-range jumper 22 seconds into the contest. McDaniel edged ahead to take a 10-9 lead after the opening period.

Second Quarter
The game began to open up in the second quarter as the Royals and Green Terror traded baskets. Trinity Washington began EMU's second quarter scoring with a layup, and Surles and Jayla Gray contributed with field goals as well. The Royals took a 23-22 lead following a three-pointer by Caris Lucas, and then stretched the lead out to 26-22 with a free throw from Gray and another layup from Washington. McDaniel, however, closed the half on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a Lil Overcash layup with 13 seconds left to give the Green Terror a 28-26 halftime lead.

Third Quarter
The game got away from EMU in the third quarter as the Green Terror outscored the Royals 22-10 in the period. Gray tied things up at 30 with a layup at the 8:33 mark, but then McDaniel went a 10-0 run that spanned nearly five minutes to pull out to a 40-30 cushion. Surles stopped the run with a layup that got her into double figures, but then the Green Terror struck again with a 10-4 scoring run over the final 3:43 of the period to go out in front 50-36 after 30 minutes.

Fourth Quarter
McDaniel scored the first four points of the final period to grow their lead to 18. However, the Royals would not go down without a fight, going on a 10-0 run of their own that included four points each from Surles and Washington as well as a bucket from Lucas. The Royals got within seven thanks to a Brii Redfearn three-pointer, but that is as close as they would get. McDaniel put the game out of reach with a 7-0 scoring run that spanned over four minutes. First-year guard Meredith Atkinson scored her first career college basket, a two-point jumper with 25 seconds left to bring the game to its 63-51 final score.  

Statistical Leaders
Points: Surles (16)
Rebounds: Surles (6)
Assists: Laila Glymph (2)
Steals:  Surles (5)
Blocks: Washington, Jeriyah Osborne (1)

What's Next
The EMU Women's Basketball team will play Stevenson in the consolation game of the Rebecca Martin Memorial Tip-off Tournament tomorrow at 2 p.m. from the Gill Center.

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