Lauren Boyda, Guest Contributor

The Emory and Henry Women’s basketball team defeated Eastern Mennonite University on Jan. 23, with the final score being 72-43.

In the opening minutes of the game, neither team scored. Then, the Wasps jumped in the lead with an eight point-scoring drive. By the end of the first period, E&H was still leading with a score of 14-9, and they increased to 25-13 by the halftime break. Eastern Mennonite decreased the Wasps lead during the third period, but in the fourth, due to a 9-2 and a 13-2 run, the Wasps finished the game with a 29 point lead, 72-43.

It was an impressive season opener for the Wasps, having a 50% scoring accuracy. Freshman Taylor Owens opened her collegiate career with 13 points right off the bench.

Junior Alexis Hoppers played an exceptional game with a double-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and three defensive blocks. Hoppers reflected on the win, highlighting her team, “We had a lot of depth in our bench and some really good points off the bench. We did not know how it would go, but almost a 30 point win for the season opener is a great start.”

Hoppers emphasized that shooting almost 50% from the floor that day, especially with it being the first game, was quite an achievement for the team during the season opener. Her concluding statement for the game was that “you could not ask for much better.”

Individual team leaders for E&H included senior guards Kylea Cooper and Josie Sayler, junior guard Taylor Gilbert, and freshman forward Brianna Hogan. Cooper posted 10 points, five assists, four rebounds, and Sayler added seven points.

Hogan’s game stats included posting six points and nine rebounds, while Gilbert had six points, eight rebounds, and four assists. When asked about the game, Gilbert said, “I thought it went really well, probably even better than expected, and the part that sticks out the most is when the freshmen came in and did a great job keeping the score up and finishing the game strong.”

The women’s head basketball coach, Jaclyn Dickens, was also pleased about the outcome of the game, “I was happy with how we played considering it being our first game in almost a year and adjusting to the graduation of three players last year.” Coach Dickens emphasized that she and the team are “so happy and thankful to be back on the court.” Entering her second season as head coach, she said that her expectations for her team this year are to “be successful, not take any team lightly, and continue to play as a team.”