Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Contact: Robert Dignazio / Sports Information Intern
(804) 752-7387, robertdignazio@rmc.edu

 Yellow Jackets Edge Royals 72-65, Move Back into First Place Tie
(Box Score)

 Ashland, Va. - Randolph-Macon defeated Eastern Mennonite 72-65 on Wednesday night at Crenshaw Gymnasium. Junior Molly Ariail recorded a double-double, leading all players with 16 rebounds and 22 points on 10 field goals and a pair of free throws. Senior Lindsay Riesbeck netted 18 points, while EMU's Danielle Scott led the Royals with 17 points.

 R-MC jumped out to an early lead before the game clock had even started. The Royals received a pregame bench technical for failing to submit their starting lineup 10 minutes prior to tipoff. Amanda Hiltunen missed the first free throw, but converted her second attempt to give the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 lead before the opening whistle. One minute later, Molly Ariail hit a layup to spark an early run that gave R-MC a 15-2 lead 6:30 into the first half. Just as fast as the Yellow Jackets built their lead, however, they lost it. The Royals responded with 25-11 run that put them ahead 27-26 with 6:05 remaining in the first half. Molly Ariail ended first-half scoring, nailing a field goal with 1:50 remaining. R-MC headed into the locker room with a 33-31 lead at the break.

 After R-MC fouled to begin the half, EMU's Ebony Dennis made a pair of free throws to tie the game. Randolph-Macon's Katie Williams responded with a layup to regain the lead for the Yellow Jackets. Lindsay Riesbeck followed that with a layup of her own. She would net nine of R-MC's next 19 points. The Yellow Jackets proceeded to outscore the Royals 21-11, taking a 10-point lead with 14 minutes remaining in regulation.

 Eastern Mennonite pulled within six points when Marla Young hit a three-pointer to make the score 63-57 with five minutes remaining. Randolph-Macon junior Renee Stein proceeded to convert four consecutive free throw attempts to widen the Yellow Jacket lead to 10 points. EMU's Brittany Snyder responded with a three-pointer, and Danielle Scott netted a free throw to close the gap to 67-61 with 2:58 remaining. After both teams traded field goals, Ebony Dennis converted a layup to make the score 69-65 with 1:32 remaining.The Royals fouled Stein, who made both free throws to seal the victory. A Maggie Roy free throw and two EMU missed field goals later, the Yellow Jackets prevailed with a 72-65 victory.

 Randolph-Macon entered the game leading the nation in three-point shooting, converting 43% of their attempts from behind the arc. However, the Yellow Jackets shot just 18.8% from three-point land on Wednesday, making three of 16 attempts. Eastern Mennonite, however, posted a 54.5 three-point shooting percentage.

 The Yellow Jackets (13-4, 10-2 ODAC) move back into a tie with Roanoke (14-2, 10-2 ODAC) for first place in the conference standings. R-MC returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Bridgewater (8-8, 6-5 ODAC). Game time is slated for 2:00. The Royals (12-5, 7-5 ODAC) fall into sole possession of fifth place in the conference and travel to Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday for a 4:00 contest against the Marlins.

- Yellow Jackets -