They didn’t accomplish the fete last year when they went to the NCAA National Championships. Even the year before when they finished 22-4, the EMU basketball women couldn’t pull it off. But this season it took all of one week for the Royals to jump into the national poll. After receiving votes in the preseason national listing, Eastern Mennonite’s women are ranked N ...More
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
