Box Score


DANVILLE, Va. — Averett's 10-point halftime lead disappeared in the second half as Eastern Mennonite University held off the Cougars down the stretch for an 82-74 victory on Saturday at the Grant Center.

Averett (3-3) looked sharp in the opening period, draining more than 57 percent of its shots — including seven 3-pointers. Although the Cougars trailed by six midway through the first half, they finished the half in strong fashion. Junior Deandra Brown's layup with 7:07 left tied the game 26-26, and sophomore Kaneshia Slade followed with a pair of free throws to put Averett in front. Freshman Mette Scheiman increased the lead to eight with back-to-back 3-pointers to help the Cougars add some cushion, which grew to a 52-42 lead by halftime.

Eastern Mennonite (7-0) outscored Averett 21-10 in the first 11 minutes of the second half to take a 63-62 lead on a Danielle Scott layup. The Cougars, who shot 25 percent in the second half, tied the game twice down the stretch but could never regain the lead. The last time came on Scheiman's jumper with 3:45 remaining, which knotted the game at 72-72. Yet, Averett only scored again once the rest of the way.

Scott led the Royals with 26 points. Melissa Lewis finished with 16 points and Danielle Rittenhouse and Shandell Taylor each scored 11 points.

Junior Ashley Washington scored a team-high 25 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and made five steals for Averett, which also got 18 points from Scheiman and 11 points from sophomore Liz Martin.
The game was Averett's final contest of the 2009 calendar year. The Cougars return to action on Jan. 2 at Peace College at 2 p.m.