EMU Women’s Basketball Receives Votes

Royals Receive 10 Votes in Latest Division III Poll

Salem, Va. – The Royals of Eastern Mennonite University have received votes for the third straight week in the d3hoops.com NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Poll.  EMU received 10 votes from the panel, placing them at #34 in the nation.  

            Under first year head coach Richard McElwee, the Royals have posted a 16-1 mark overall and a 12-1 record in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).  The 16-1 start marks the best start in school history.  The 1984-85 Royals started 13-1 and went on to win their only ODAC championship, defeating Roanoke in the title game, 75-71.

            Individually, EMU has four sophomores averaging in double-figures.  The Royals have been led by Carrie Grandstaff (Luray, Va./Mt. Carmel Christian) with 18.5 points per game.  Her scoring average ranks her second in the league.  Classmate Laura Ludholtz (Mount Crawford, Va./Fort Defiance) ranks second on the team in scoring with 15.2 points per night while Stephanie Mathews (Woodstock, Va./Central) and Amanda Renalds (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) average 12.6 and 12.5 points, respectively. 

Mathews and Ludholtz also rank in the top 10 in the conference in rebounding with Mathews at #4 with 9.1 caroms per game and Ludholtz at #6 with 7.8 boards per outing.  Renalds is ranked second in the ODAC in field goal percentage making good on over 51% of her shots from the floor.  Grandstaff is right behind, ranking fourth in the league with a 49.8% shooting average.  Junior guard Shantee Bryant (Verona, Va./Robert E. Lee) dishes out a league-best 5.82 assists per game.

As a team, the Royals are out-scoring their opponents by over 14 points per contest.  They are also shooting a league-best 44.9% from the floor while holding opponents to a conference-best 33.3% shooting average.

The complete national poll is as follows:

D3hoops.com Division III Poll

1.  Bowdoin

2.  Southern Maine

3.  Trinity (Texas)

4.  Rochester

5.  Scranton

6.  Eastern Connecticut

7.  UW-Stevens Point

8.  St. Benedict

9.  Carleton

10.  Washington

11.  Messiah

12.  Marymount

13.  UW-Eau Claire

14.  Johns Hopkins

15.  UW-Oshkosh

16.  Pacific Lutheran

17.  Hardin-Simmons

18.  St. John Fisher

19.  DeSales

20.  Hope

21.  McDaniel

22.  Baldwin-Wallace

23.  Lebanon Valley

24.  DePauw

25.  Capital

Others Receiving Votes:  NYU – 81, Ithaca – 57, Millikin – 27, Union – 22, Calvin – 19, Brandeis – 15, Gwynedd-Mercy – 12, Gustavus Adolphus – 11, Eastern Mennonite – 10, Wilmington – 9, Catholic – 6, Thomas More – 6, Williams – 4, Buena Vista – 2, Howard Payne – 1, King’s – 1, Puget Sound – 1, Wheaton (Ill.) – 1.