Freshman center Blair Ripley secures possession of the ball during Emory’s second loss of the weekend against Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) Jan. 29. Parth Mody/Photo Editor

Emory women’s basketball’s four-game winning streak ended last weekend after the Eagles suffered a weekend of University Athletic Association (UAA) conference losses at home to the No. 1 University of Chicago Maroons and the No. 3 Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) Bears.

The Eagles fell to the Maroons 79-61 Jan. 26 and closed out the weekend with a final decision of 78-64 against the Bears Jan. 28. The team now stands at No. 4 in the UAA conference with a 4-3 record.

The Eagles took on WashU in a Sunday game that resulted in their second loss of the weekend. The first quarter seemed to play out in Emory’s favor after junior guard Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod drained two jumpers in the first minute. Around the six-minute mark, the Eagles increased their lead to seven points with a 3-pointer by sophomore forward Erin Lindahl. After Lindahl’s play, the Bears called a 30-second timeout, after which they started to gain the advantage, and led after the first quarter, 17-14.

Emory trailed close behind in the second and third quarters, decreasing the WashU lead to as little as two points on four separate occasions. The Bears burst into the final quarter with a nine-point lead and added to it with a 10-4 run in the quarter. Despite 21 points from Emory’s top scorers, the Eagles failed to meet the Bears’ mark, ending with a final score of 78-64.

Junior center Ashley Oldshue and Lindahl led the Eagles’ scoring with 17 points each, while Jackson-Sherrod followed with 16 points. WashU dominated the charity stripe, shooting 94.4 percent compared to Emory’s 52.4 percent.

“I just think we have to get back to what we focus on before the game,” Oldshue said. “I think it’s always for us getting more possession, so like limiting turnovers, getting more rebounds.”

Two days earlier, the Eagles met with the UChicago Maroons who earned their 13th straight win 79-61. Despite UChicago’s early lead, the Eagles chased the Maroons to a 40-39 edge going into the second half.

“I think we came out pretty strong in the first half,” Oldshue said. “I think we just lost focus on what was working for us. I don’t think [WashU] did anything much different in the second half or what we weren’t expecting them to do. … It wasn’t really cohesive in the second half like it had been in the first.”

After halftime, the Maroons broke away, increasing their lead to as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore guard Allison Chernow led the Eagles’ game off the bench with 17 points, lifting the Eagles to within one point at halftime with a 3-pointer in the final five seconds of the second quarter.

Emory dominated in second chance points and bench points, to the credit of Chernow and freshman guard Lynn Johnson. But the Maroons’ strong play inside from top scorer junior forward Olariche Obi and their ability to double the Eagles’ points off turnovers (22-11) was enough for UChicago to maintain control.

“[WashU and UChicago] were the toughest two games of the year for us so far but I still feel like they’re very within reach for us to win this coming weekend,” Oldshue said.

The Eagles meet UChicago and WashU once again next weekend, this time in enemy territory, with games Feb. 2 and Feb. 4.

Jackson addressed the team’s standpoint leaving their home turf.

“Definitely we have to play our way,” Interim Head Coach Misha Jackson said. “We can’t change our style of play or anything like that, nor do we need to. But … we have to focus on getting better, and if we do what we’re supposed to do then the rest will take care of itself.”

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Managing Editor | annie.uichanco@emory.edu | Annie Uichanco (20C) is from Tampa, Fla., majoring in music composition. She covers sports and occasionally arts & entertainment. In addition to the Wheel, she is an avid baker, guitarist and true lefty.