ASHLAND, Va. - Freshman Kelly Williams (Garysburg, N.C./Halifax Academy) registered her 19th double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds, and junior Amber Lee (Rockville, Va./Patrick Henry) added 14 points and 15 boards for her fourth double-double as the Randolph-Macon women's basketball team dropped a 74-67 decision to Eastern Mennonite in ODAC action Tuesday evening in Crenshaw Gymnasium.
Freshman Michal Ross (Glen Allen, Va./Glen Allen) put up 15 points and had three steals for the Yellow Jackets (12-11, 7-8 ODAC).
Williams hit a jumper and a pair of free throws to spark a 6-0 run for the Yellow Jackets in the first three minutes of the contest. The Royals were held without a field goal in the first five minutes of the initial quarter. EMU scored 13 straight points to lead 13-6 with 2:15 left. A layup by Williams with 1:15 remaining broke the streak and made it a 13-8 contest at the end of the first period.
Williams hit a short jumper in the lane to start the second quarter as R-MC pulled within three at 13-10. EMU responded with six straight points to take its largest lead at 19-10 with 7:10 left in the period. The Yellow Jackets trailed 21-13 before Williams converted a three-point play and added another free throw to make it 21-18 with 4:36 remaining in the half. After a Royal trey, Ross hit a jumper and freshman Ashley Weaver (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) buried a three-pointer to pull R-MC within one at 24-23 with 3:30 left. After another EMU triple, Ross scored six straight points and junior Marisha Berry (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) made a layup to give the Yellow Jackets a 31-27 lead at intermission. Williams had 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in the first half, while Ross added nine points, three boards and a pair of steals. The R-MC defense held EMU to 26% shooting in the first half (9-34).
After the Royals started the third quarter with a free throw, Lee hit back-to-back layups to put the Yellow Jackets on top 35-28 with 8:35 left in the period. EMU scored seven straight points over the next minute to level the score at 35-35 with 7:30 remaining. A three-point play by Williams gave R-MC a 40-37 advantage with 5:21 left. Ross made a pair of free throws with 2.7 seconds left as the Yellow Jackets tied it at 49-49 at the end of the third period.
EMU started the fourth quarter with a 13-3 spurt, including 11 straight points, to build a 62-52 lead with 5:30 left in regulation. A layup by junior Teal Reynolds (Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) ended the streak for the Yellow Jackets, making it 62-54 with 5:20 remaining. A Lee layup with 1:10 left pulled R-MC with five at 68-63. EMU would close on a 6-4 run to claim the 74-67 victory.
R-MC held a 45-42 advantage on the boards and pulled down 14 offensive rebounds.
Williams had seven of the 11 blocks for the Yellow Jackets.
Berry paced R-MC with seven assists.
Myneshia Walker had 25 points and Chloe Roach added 23 for EMU.
Randolph-Macon returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 16 for a 6 p.m. home contest against Gallaudet in Crenshaw Gymnasium.