EMU women’s basketball coach Kevin Griffin has been named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Royals to their best-ever finish in conference play. Junior forward Bianca Ygarza (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) earned a repeat selection to the All-ODAC First Team, while sophomore Shakeerah Sykes (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) was named All-ODAC Second Team. ...More
The EMU basketball women gave Coach Kevin Griffin a fantastic birthday present Tuesday night – a new record. The Royals hit 59.7% of their shots, a new program record, and never trailed in a 93-68 romp at Randolph-Macon. Eastern Mennonite scored a quick lay-up off the opening tip and jumped ahead 6-0. Less than five minutes into the game, the Royals had surged to a 14-3 cushion ...More
EMU Basketball Men Hoping To Catch Another Round Of Lightning Update: After a 79-71 win over Mary Washington University on Dec. 19, the Runnin Royals were 1-2 within the ODAC and 8-4 overall. The team returns to the court after the holiday break on Jan. 5 at Emory & Henry College ...More
Last year a young Eastern Mennonite women’s basketball team got on a roll and finished with a 22-4 record, tied for second-best in program history. Yet the Royals lost in the ODAC Tournament semifinals and missed out on the NCAA Tournament. Coach Kevin Griffin knew he had a talented crew last winter, but with just three upperclassmen on the roster, Griffin didn’t expect the ...More
The sign of a good team is when it can overcome rough spells and still earn a win. Despite trailing by 11 with five minutes to play, Eastern Mennonite’s women stepped up their defense, which in turn fueled their offense to a 23-3 game-ending run and a 71-62 win over Randolph-Macon. After trading leads in the first half, neither team scored over the final 3:28 of the frame as the Yellow ...More
When the two teams met in November, Eastern Mennonite needed a big second half to grab a win at Bridgewater. Tuesday night in Harrisonburg, the Royals never trailed.  But they did need to weather a tense final minutes before securing a 66-65 victory to extend their winning streak to eight games. For the first time since the opening tip, the Eagles tied the score at 62-62 with a Jenny ...More
The women have done it again. As is starting to become common, the Royals ended the game on a big run, taking an impressive 60-50 win from ODAC-leader Guilford Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg. Against the Quakers, who entered on an 11-game winning streak and the last remaining team without a loss in conference play, Eastern Mennonite closed on a 24-11 run over the final 12:13. Wit ...More
Despite some early game rust, the Eastern Mennonite basketball women controlled the second half against Lynchburg Tuesday night, taking an 81-72 ODAC win in Harrisonburg. The win pushes Eastern Mennonite women to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the ODAC. After EMU got the first bucket of the game, the Hornets took over and led by as many as ten in the first half at 25-15. ...More
Courtesy Daily News Record, Dec. 6, 2011 Kevin Griffin said he’s been asked why his two leading scorÂers — Bianca Ygarza and Raiven PatterÂson — don’t start, but the Eastern MenÂnonite University women’s basketball coach just shrugs it off. The seventh-year coach admits it’s an unusual arrangement, but after opening the season 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Old ...More
Like a volcano preparing to erupt, the Eastern Mennonite women’s basketball team has been steadily improving. With another round of talented newcomers bolstering the roster, seventh-year Coach Kevin Griffin is hoping this is the year it all comes together. “We have the talent to compete,” he said, “but I think seven of the top eight teams (in the ODAC) have thre ...More
