The Emory women’s basketball team tipped off their season on Nov. 13 against Piedmont College (Ga.) and finished the weekend undefeated against the University of Lynchburg (Va.) on Nov. 15 and Colorado College on Nov. 17, winning each game by at least 13 points.
The Eagles won their season opener on Wednesday against the Piedmont College Lions by a score of 84-67.
Emory came out firing in the first quarter. Led by senior forward Erin Lindahl who finished the quarter with 10 points, the Eagles finished the quarter on a 14-2 run, up 28-15. In the second quarter, the Lions picked up their defensive intensity, forcing turnovers and holding the Eagles to only 14 shots. But the Eagles went to the locker room still leading by eight points at 48-40.
In the third quarter, Emory went on a 15-1 run, extending their lead to 22 points entering the fourth quarter. Piedmont freshman forward Nakiyah Washington scored seven of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles’ lead was never seriously threatened as they secured their first win of the season. Lindahl finished the game with 16 points and three three-pointers, while sophomore forward Tori Huggins recorded a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double off the bench.
Junior center Blair Ripley expressed admiration toward the large impact the seniors made on the team in the first games of the season.
“We have a lot of experience with our seniors,” Ripley said. “Especially with [Lindahl], [senior guard Allison Chernow] and [senior point guard] Lindsey [Tse] that start. Just relying on them and a lot of other people who have gotten significant minutes to really set the tone has been good.”
Friday evening, Emory played their first game in the Emory Holiday Inn Tip Off Classic against the Lynchburg Hornets. The Woodruff Athletic Complex at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga. hosted the weekend’s games since the Emory volleyball team was hosting the 2019 NCAA Division III South Regional Tournament.
The Eagles started out strong once again and yielded just four points to Lynchburg in the first quarter. Emory was up by 18 points at halftime, compared to Lynchburg’s 12 points.
The Hornets brought Emory’s lead back to single digits by the end of the third quarter, trailing by nine points. Lynchburg made it as close as a five-point game in the beginning of the fourth quarter, but Emory senior guard Allison Chernow scored seven points in the final quarter, ending the game 52-39 in the Eagles’ favor. Freshman forward Lexi Hall was Lynchburg’s high scorer with 10 points, while Lindahl was Emory’s top scorer with 11 points in a well-balanced offensive game for the Eagles.
The Eagles continued their play in the Classic on Sunday against the Colorado Tigers. The Eagles finished the first quarter on an 8-0 run, up by 15 points entering the second quarter. Junior guard Molly Weiss and Ripley were Emory’s only second-quarter scorers and combined for 14 points to keep Emory’s lead at 14 at halftime. The third quarter went back and forth again between the Eagles and Tigers, but Emory went on a 17-6 streak in the fourth quarter to secure a 77-49 win.
The Eagles shot 58.2 percent from the field and a whopping 54.5 percent from the three-point line. Five Eagles finished with double-digit point totals, including Weiss, who hit three three-pointers, and Ripley, who added 16 points and eight rebounds to the stats sheet.
Head Coach Misha Jackson aims to improve on rebounding in the next few games.
“We can still clean it up a little bit better,” Jackson said. “We did well with that Sunday, but I think we can get better at keeping others off the glass.”
The Eagles will head to California to play against Claremont Mudd Scripps on Nov. 22 and Pomona-Pitzer on Nov. 23.
