This past week, the women's basketball team hosted Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) and Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) at home in the Woodruff P.E. Center. The Emory Eagles defeated Carnegie Mellon 70-68 in overtime and defeated Case Western 76-52. After these two victories, Emory remains undefeated with 14 wins and no losses. Due to their success, they are ranked eighth in the nation. While it is early in the University Athletic Association (UAA) set of games, Emory has had a tremendous start. In fact, the 14 consecutive wins are the most in school history.
Against Carnegie Mellon, Emory did not have their best performance. They shot only 32 percent from the field and 25 percent from the three-point line. Also, Carnegie Mellon nearly went to the free throw line twice as many times as Emory did. While they would have liked to win more comfortably, it was a great early test for the team. This was the third Emory game (and victory) by one possession this season. They won due to their tenacity on the offensive rebounds, with 24 for the game. Also, they forced Carnegie Mellon to commit 25 turnovers.
Ideally, Emory wants to win every game by at least a few possessions. However, having early adversity in the season gives Emory experience in tense situations. When rivalry and tournament games begin, Emory will be tested in many different situations. Also, with the collective experience of the core starters and the contributions from the younger players, Emory has a lot of different ways to beat teams.
In the Carnegie Mellon game, Emory played well in the first half and built a 33-27 lead. However, the Eagles did not shoot well, shooting 36 percent in the first half. However, they crashed the boards well with seven offensive rebounds in the first half. This gave them extra possessions and more opportunities to score an easy basket or open three.
In the second half, Carnegie Mellon's Lisa Murphy scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead their second half comeback. With 45 seconds left in regulation, Carnegie Mellon took a 60-57 lead. Emory responded with a three pointer by senior guard Savannah Morgan with six seconds left to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Carnegie Mellon and Emory traded baskets. With under five seconds left in the game, Morgan drew a foul and made two clutch free throws at the end to win the game 70-68.
Against Case Western Reserve, Emory was dominant throughout. They had a fast start, scoring 48 points in the first half. They shot nearly 50 percent from the field and got six steals. This helped Emory get easy baskets in transition off of the turnovers.
For the game, Emory's full court press defense forced 31 turnovers, which proved to be a significant difference between the teams. Emory's senior guard Selena Castillo scored 26 points, including making five of her six three point attempts.
Emory made 10 of its 18 three point attempts, which widened the margin between the two teams.
While Emory has not faced the best teams of the UAA, it is encouraging that they have taken care of business in every game so far. They have won in a multitude of ways. Also, they have shot poorly in games and have managed to win due to the overall hustle and pressure they put on opponents.
Coming up, Emory continues its conference schedule with games at New York University, at Brandeis University (Mass.) and at home against University of Chicago. Their game against NYU should show how Emory stacks up against some of the best teams in the nation. New York University is 13-1 coming into their Friday matchup. Brandeis and University of Chicago should be less challenging opponents.
While Emory has aspirations that extend beyond winning the UAA, it is critical for them to win as many of the rivalry games within the division as possible.
Additionally, they need to continue to improve every game. They have shown that they can win many ways and can adjust to different opponent strengths and weaknesses.
–By Shawn Farshchi
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