Even with the Wasps’ leader Sarah Petty scoring 21 points, the Wasps were not able to stop the Washington & Lee forwards. E&H’s defense did not come to play in the first half. They allowed W&L to shoot 60 percent from the field while only shooting 44 percent. The halftime score was 27-50 W&L.

In the second half, things got better for the Wasps but they were unable to close the gap. Emory outscored W&L 42-32 in the second half. They were able to play better defense while continuing to attack offensively well. They shot the ball almost 46 percent.

Both Petty and Alex Lyons led the Wasps in scoring with 21 points a piece. Former Gate City players Brittany Rogers and Tuesdee Woods followed up with six points each. Petty also led the team in rebounding and assists with five of each.

Petty is becoming an elite player in the ODAC. She was named ODAC player of the week and made the All-American team for the week by D3hoops.com. These awards came following the stellar weekend for her against Virginia Wesleyan College and Randolph-Macon College. She led the team in scoring with over 12 points per game. She also led the team in rebounding with over five rebounds per game.

The Wasps’ record is now 6-13 with 4-10 in the ODAC. They will travel north to play Eastern Mennonite University and Bridgewater College on Saturday and Sunday.

Emory & Henry’s men’s basketball team was able to pick up their second win in conference play on Wednesday night against Lynchburg 105-96.

The win is something that this squad need. They were able to come out and show that they can play defense and close games when time is running out. The Wasps came out to a fast start. They lead Lynchburg 5-0 in the first 30 seconds of the game. From this point on, the team never looked back. They had a 55-53 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Wasps were able to stay out in front of the Hornets. They never trailed after halftime.

The Wasps had six players score in double figures against Lynchburg. Andrew Hart led the team in scoring with 17 points while shooting 5-11 from three-point range. Both Josh Lee and Robert “Downtown” Hudson contributed 13 points each. Jarell Christian and a physically sick Camillo Weinz had 12 points respectively. The big man down low Kyle Huckins had a solid 10 points as well. The two people getting them the ball also had good games as JD Dyson had nine assists while Marques Thomas had six. Antonio Leary had team high 6 rebounds.

If conference play were going to start before this weekend, the Wasps would be in the final playoff spot. With the system that the team runs, they are a scary team to play. E&H can hit many three-point shots in a row, which can make a two point lead turn into 20 points in matter of minutes.

It is positive to see the team also play some defense. Before this game, teams playing against the Wasps are averaging 118.8 points a game. When Lynchburg only scoring 96 points, it is truly a good sign for things to come for this team. They go into a weekend where they need to defeat one of the top teams in the conference.

With a win, the team is looking forward to the games this weekend as they play against Virginia Wesleyan College and Randolph-Macon. Both of these games are on the road. The Wasps have a record of 6-11 and 2-8 in ODAC games.

Over the break, the young Lady Wasps showed signs of a team on the verge of breaking out of a slump.

Though the team has suffered through five consecutive losses, four of those have been within ten points. The Wasps have also gotten better contributions on offense.

Sophomore Baylie Snyder leads the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game, while fellow sophomore guard Sarah Petty is second with 9.6 points per game. Petty also leads the team in assists with 59 on the year.

Sophomores Alex Lyons, Brittany Rogers, and Samantha Shepard are making big contributions to the team. Two freshman, Ashton Kaylor and Tuesdee Woods, are also playing big minutes.

Another bight spot for the Wasps has been from freshman guard Kayla Blackstock. She came off the bench and hit four three-point shots against Bridgewater. Even with the loss, this breakout game gave her and the team some confedence. She will be seeing some more playing time, if she continues to shot like the basketball like that.

The team arguably found a new strength with the full court press defense in a 62-55 loss to Guilford at home. The team went into half trailing 33-19, but made a furious run in the second half falling short by just seven points.

The full court press that Coach Joy Scruggs employed during that game forced the Quakers into a plethora of second half turnovers. This gave the Emory & Henry players a renewed enthusiasm and excitement on the court.

The team made a similar run the following game versus Lynchburg falling just short again 79-72. The team has made obvious strides and is playing with a confidence that they lacked early in the season.

All of the Wasps’ remaining games are against ODAC opponents except a game against Salem College on Jan. 29. At 4-11 (3-8), the Wasps are probably not satisfied. If the team improves on their defense and assist to turnover ratio, they have a chance be the team they may have envisioned at the beginning of the season.

Story written by Chris Hatcher 

Some described it as the worst day for Major League Baseball, some described it as the best, and others maintained that it might just have been both.

But good or bad, The Mitchell Report ordered by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig exposed some inconvenient truths to sports fans that might not have been willing to hear them. Of course now, one player’s alleged steroid use is dominating the headlines (Roger Clemens). Barry Bonds is more appreciative than anyone else, but fans and the media alike need to shift their focus back to the grand scheme of things. The focus should be on the game of baseball.

Even though it is a big deal that Clemens might have been juicing, he is not the only player who was caught by this report. In fact, he wasn’t even the only big player caught by the report.

At least one player from every Major League team was caught. So those who say that steroids are not a problem in baseball (and in sports altogether) try to justify that.

Obviously, they have a negative effect on sports in all phases, as well as the children that look up to and admire athletes in these sports, but what about the health concerns?

It’s impossible now to measure the ramifications of an athlete’s steroid use over a long or short period of time.

Steroids have just become pervasive in sports, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s not healthy. This should be the biggest concern for the MLB. They have to make sure the players are safe first and foremost.

Secondly, they have to maintain the integrity of the game, so it’s either all used steroids or no player used steroids. Let’s hope it’s the latter. Also, even a player who is proven guilty of using steroids cannot be eliminated from Hall of Fame contention.

Who’s to say that the player opposite them was not juicing themselves? It is entirely possible. Where do you draw the line? Would Barry Bonds for instance not have hit a lot of home runs if he hadn’t juiced?

MLB has tried over the last several years to loosely regulate steroid use, but I think that was only an attempt to save face for the league in anticipation of what a probe such as The Mitchell Report would uncover.

As for punishment? I think lots of community service (talking to kids at school about avoiding steroids), a stiff suspension and fine (say a year and a year’s pay) and counseling and rehabilitation are key to curbing this problem. MLB must do this instead of just talking about it, and witness the results.

 The story was written by Chris Hatcher 

Emory & Henry’s men’s basketball team suffers another hard defeat as they lost to the Generals of Washington & Lee University 115-106 on Wednesday night. 

The Wasps came out of the gate fast. They jumped out to an early lead, but the Wasps went into a scoring drought midway through the first half, not scoring a field goal in over five minutes. They closed out the half strong. The Wasps were up by two points going into halftime with the score 54-52. 

The second half was back and forth action between the two teams. The Wasps were unable to get much closer after the Generals pulled away midway through the second half. They fought hard, but they were unable to get the win as they lost to W&L. 

The Wasps were lead by Andrew Hart, who snapped out of his scoring slump, with 23 points. Camillo Wienz and Kyle Huckins scored in double figures for the Wasps as well. Marques Thomas had eight assists to go along with four points off the bench. The Wasps shot as a team 39-79 from the field and had 20 assists.  

The Wasps will travel this weekend to Bridgewater College and Eastern Mennonite University. The team as not faced either school this season.  The Wasps record fell to 4-10 with a 0-6 record in ODAC play.