With a 12-6 record this season, the Emory University women’s basketball team is off to a solid start and hoping to continue building momentum into the upcoming University Athletic Association (UAA) matchups. Led by head coach Misha Jackson, the team has gone 4-3 in UAA conference play including wins over No. 21 University of Chicago and No. 25 Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.).
Jackson expects all of her players to be competitive and put up a fight, whether the game is home or away. This season, Jackson has been trying to challenge her players more and meet with them one-on-one to build their confidence.
“Confidence, that’s a big thing — you have to have it to play for Emory,” Jackson said. “If you walk into those games not confident, then the game is already over.”
The Eagles lost to No. 1-ranked New York University (NYU) on Jan. 17 by 31 points. Despite the first quarter being a close matchup, the combination of NYU’s strong defense and offensive game overpowered the Eagles’ efforts. Jackson said she gave her players a simple message after the loss: to not be too hard on themselves.
“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” Jackson said. “We don’t need to start over. It’s very simple – get the ball more than the other team and put the ball in the hole more than they do.”
However, junior forward Chloe Kreusser said it has still been instilled in the team to not have a “short memory” after each matchup — no matter if they won or lost — so they can focus on improvement for the next game. This season, Kreusser has had the most starts of her career at Emory, and she said she is looking to help her team by ensuring they have this positive mentality.
“It’s honestly a mental game of getting in the right headspace and knowing that we all know we have each other’s backs,” Kreusser said.
Graduate guard Hanna Malik is in the middle of her first season as an Eagle after graduating from Washington and Lee University (Va.). Malik said she loves the team and that playing for Emory is an opportunity that she “wouldn't trade for anything.” She added that she is working hard to make a seamless transition on the court while maintaining her style of play.
“I’m trying to do my best not to have them have to change to me, but me being able to mold to their system and how they’re playing,” Malik said. “Getting to know how my teammates play so I can put them in the best situations so they can be successful … so we can all just work together to be as successful as we can on the court.”
Although it is only her first season at Emory, Malik feels that she has known her teammates her “whole life.”
“You build these lasting connections that are never gonna go away and you definitely see it on the court,” Malik said. “We’re all so close. We all want the best for one another. We know what each other is thinking before they even say it.”
The Eagles will continue UAA conference play on the road against Carnegie Mellon on Feb. 7. Looking forward to these upcoming UAA matchups, Jackson said she believes the Eagles can compete with anyone in the conference.
“We’ve got to be ready for a fight and we’ve been talking about ‘swing first,’” Jackson said. “Don’t wait to get rocked. Swing first and make somebody else have to come back.”
