BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Eagles defeated the Eastern Mennonite Royals on Wednesday Jan. 29, to increase their winning streak to eight in a row. 

“It is always exciting when either one of the basketball teams play EMU; once I heard that the girls were on a winning streak, I knew it was going to be a really good game and I am really excited to see how they play,” said Bridgewater student-athlete and athletic trainer Mackenzie Parcell, before the game on Wednesday evening.

The Eagles began the first quarter by establishing a strong 13-6 lead that started with a layup by sophomore forward Makayla Johnson. Sophomore forward Erika Nettles and junior guard Ahlia Moone ended the run with a foul shot and a layup.

The first quarter ended with an attempted layup by Moone leaving the Eagles at a 15-13 lead.

Being the only player on the court to have made a 3-pointer in the game, freshman guard Jasmyn Pierce started the second quarter off with hitting her second 3-pointer of the game.

Five straight points by senior forward Chrissy Delawder bumped the Royals score up to 20 to tie with the Eagles.

The teams remained tied 22-22 for a few minutes until junior guard Jade Payton scored a layup to bring the Royals their first lead of the game.

Junior guard Madison Baum tied the score up once again with a layup, while remained 5:41in the half.

Three minutes passed with no points added to the board until Baum hit another layup at 3:06 to break the tie for the Eagles.

A layup by Delawder and a foul shot by Moone put the Royals up 33-31 at the half.

The Eagles started the third quarter with a 7-0 spurt that began with a 3-pointer by Pierce to tie the score at 34.

Pierce collected a rebound from sophomore forward Diamond Huskey and scored a 2-pointer to give the Eagles the lead for good. 

The Royals closed the deficit to one point three different times, but were unable to collect the lead. A layup by junior forward Claire Mocarski and two foul shots by Moone left the Eagles at a 52-47 lead at the end of the third.

Nettles made a bucket with five minutes left in the fourth quarter to bring the Eagles to a double-figure lead. 

Another baseline jumper by Nettles gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game with only three and a half minutes left. 

Pierce led the team with 16 points, setting a new career-high for the second game in a row. 

Baum followed with 15 as well as Moone with 11. 

The Eagles host Randolph College on Saturday, Feb. 1 for their annual Play4Kay game to support in the fight against breast cancer.