Harrisonburg, Va. -- The University of Lynchburg women's basketball team concluded its regular-season stretch with an emphatic victory over Eastern Mennonite, 54-39, on Saturday afternoon at Yoder Arena.

The Hornets (13-12, 6-10 ODAC) built an early edge over the Royals (5-20, 0-16), leading 9-7 after the first quarter while holding Eastern Mennonite to .188 percent shooting from the field. Ashley Vandergrift and Audra Petty each knocked down a three-pointer in the opening period.

Lynchburg extended its lead in the second quarter, outscoring the Royals 14-11 to take a 23-18 advantage into halftime. Bree Spainhour was active in the paint, leading the team with seven points at the half, and Madison Hoffman contributed a three-point play during a key second-quarter stretch that helped Lynchburg push the margin to as many as 10 in the quarter.

Eastern Mennonite responded in the third, outscoring Lynchburg 16-14 to narrow the deficit to 37-34 heading into the final period. Grace Burke led the Royals during the stretch with eight points in the period, while Lynchburg received crucial baskets from Caitlin Canada and Kate Littlejohn - who each had six points throughout the quarter - to stay in front.

In the fourth quarter, the Hornets delivered their strongest performance of the afternoon, outscoring Eastern Mennonite 17-5. Lynchburg held the Royals to just one field goal on 15 attempts in the period and forced four turnovers to create separation. Littlejohn scored six of her 13 points in the final quarter, while Spainhour finished with a team-high 16 points on six-of-12 shooting and added six rebounds. Littlejohn added 10 boards to notch a double-double. Canada contributed six points off the bench, and Brooke Cason pulled down 10 rebounds to anchor the defense.

Lynchburg shot .328 percent from the field and held Eastern Mennonite to .237 percent shooting, including one-of-12 from 3-point range. The Hornets controlled the glass with a 53-37 rebounding advantage and outscored the Royals 26-12 in the paint.

The Hornets now await for the ODAC postseason bracket to be released and show their fate. The top eight teams in the ODAC based on conference record will advance to the postseason. If teams are tied in conference records, a series of tiebreakers will decide who makes the cut for the playoffs.

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