HARRISONBURG, Va. (EMU Athletics) – EMU Women’s Basketball hosted its biggest home crowd of the season for Alumni, Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day against Roanoke on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Royals could not pull in front of the Yoder Arena faithful, as the Maroons got the better of them by the score of 61-43.

The Royals did not have scorer in double figures as Jeriyah Osborne and Jayda Jones co-led the team with eight points. Jayla Gray scored seven points and pulled down 11 rebounds, just four points shy of a double-double.

Mariah Cain, a Harrisonburg native, led Roanoke with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, while Paige Breuer contributed 12 points on the day.

Records: EMU 8-10, 0-9 ODAC | Roanoke 8-10, 4-5 ODAC

Highlights
First Quarter
After Roanoke opened the scoring with a two-pointer, Lauren Townsend drilled a three-pointer to give EMU a very early 3-2 lead. Roanoke answered with a Peyton Kirchner jump shot, but then Osborne and Jones nailed back-to-back shots to give the Royals a 7-4 advantage. However, the Maroons then went on a 10-0 rally over 3:37 of game action to pull out to a 14-7 lead. The Royals then scored the final five points of the period to make it a two-point game after 10 minutes.

Second Quarter
Roanoke took control of the game in the second quarter, outscoring EMU 8-2 over the first 2:41 of the period. Grace Burke ended the drought with a three-pointer, but it was the Maroons that took a 29-20 halftime lead.

Third Quarter
The Royals got as close as seven on two separate occasions, with back-to-back three-pointers from Jones in the middle of the third quarter. With the score 38-31, Roanoke outscored EMU 9-2 over the final four minutes of the frame to pull away to a 47-33 cushion.

Fourth Quarter
The two teams went back-and-forth in the final quarter of action, with the Maroons maintaining a double-digit cushion the rest of the way.

Statistical Leaders
Scoring: Jones, Osborne (8)
Rebounds: Glymph, Gray (11)
Assists: Townsend (3)
Steals: Burke, Townsend (2)
Blocks: Gray (3)

What’s Next
EMU Women’s Basketball will face a tall task when they travel to take on nationally ranked Washington & Lee on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Tip-off in Lexington is scheduled for 5 p.m.

— EMU Athletics —