LEXINGTON, Va. -- Sophomore center Megan Babst (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) tallied a career-high 28 points, five blocks, and a school-record 21 rebounds in leading the Washington and Lee womenÕs basketball team to a 75-71 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory over the visiting Eastern Mennonite Royals on Friday evening in Lexington, Va.

The Generals (3-1, 2-0 ODAC) began the game on an 18-8 run and appeared to have the game well in hand throughout the first half. They entered halftime with a comfortable 42-28 lead over the Royals (0-5, 0-3 ODAC). Babst, who played all 40 minutes, scored 20 of her 28 points and hauled in 13 boards before the break.

W&L pushed its lead to 54-34 before the momentum took a sharp turn in the RoyalsÕ direction. EMU guards Emily Mullet (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) and Tara Froese (Inman, Kan./Inman) took control of the contest, leading the Royals on a furious comeback over the next 12:04. Froese, who posted 21 points on the evening, canned a three-pointer with 4:03 remaining, giving the Royals their first and only lead of the game at 69-66. W&L, however, fought back and reclaimed the lead on a Sarah Schmidt (Topeka, Kan./Hayden) jumper with 2:22 remaining, putting the Generals back ahead at 70-69. From there, W&L cashed in on some clutch free throw shooting, including four-of four by Schmidt, to hand the Royals their fifth consecutive loss.

For the game, EMU shot 64 percent from behind the three-point arc. Mullet canned four three-pointers on her way to a team-high 26 points. Also in double figures for the Royals were Froese with 21 points and Mandy Knight (Singers Glen, Va./Turner Ashby) with 12.

Schmidt finished the game with 15 points, including 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Also of note was senior guard Jessica Morton (Midlothian, Va./Clover Hill), who tallied eight points and three assists on the game.

W&L will look to extend its ODAC record to 3-0 when it travels to Bridgewater College on Monday, December 6th. The game is set to begin at 7:00 pm.

--GENERALS--