HARRISONBURG, Va.- The EMU Women's Basketball team returned home from their three-game road trip last week to face arguably their biggest challenge with a visit from Washington & Lee, who came in ranked #18 in the country. The Royals gave the Generals a fight, trailing by only nine at halftime.  But W&L then outscored EMU 39-19 in the second half to pull away for a 78-49 victory over the Royals in Yoder Arena.

Jeriyah Osborne was the top Royal in the stat sheet with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Hanna Malik led the Generals' match with on 7-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. The Royals held Mary Schleusner, the ODAC's lead scorer and reigning Rookie of the Year, to her lowest scoring output of the season at just five points.

Records: EMU 4-6, 1-4 ODAC | W&L 8-1, 5-0 ODAC

Highlights
First Quarter
EMU came out with a lot of energy to start the game. After a 7-2 start for W&L, the Royals answered with baskets from Trinity Washington and Caris Lucas. Malik then nailed a three, but then Lucas responded with a deep three of her own to make the score 10-9 Generals. After a 9-0 run from W&L, EMU closed the frame with a  6-2 run of their own, with four of the points coming from Osborne.

Second Quarter
The Royals opened the second quarter by getting within two points of the Generals on a Washington layup and a Kayla Surles free throw. However, W&L pulled away with a 7-0 scoring run over the course of 1:13. EMU kept up the spirited effort though by outscoring W&L 9-6 over the final 3:07 of the half. Seven of those nine points came courtesy of Surles.

Third Quarter
Sadly, the game started to get away from the Royals in the third quarter. The Generals opened up with an 8-0 scoring run of the first 3:35 of the second half, with baskets from Malik, Caroline Shimp, and Quinn McGuiness. The Royals attempted to rally with an Osborne three, but W&L responded with another 8-0 run. EMU did outscore W&L 8-2 over the final three-and-a-half minutes of the quarter, but the Generals took a 57-41 lead to the fourth.

Fourth Quarter
W&L put the game out of reach with a 7-1 scoring run over the opening 2:42 of the fourth quarter and outscored EMU 21-8 to close out the game.

Statistical Leaders
Scoring: Osborne (13)
Rebounds: Hamlet (8)
Assists: Surles (3)
Steals: Redfearn (3)

What's Next
EMU will return to action at home this Saturday, Dec. 9 for another ODAC matchup versus the Maroons of Roanoke College. Tip-off from Yoder Arena will be at 2 p.m.
 
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