The Emory women’s basketball team hosted the Mary Baldwin College (Va.) Fighting Squirrels Sunday, Nov. 27, and the Eagles dominated, winning 89-43. Continuing their excellent start to the season, Emory maintains their perfect record at 5-0..
The Eagles came out scorching hot against Mary Baldwin scoring 25 unanswered points to start the game. By the end of the first quarter Emory outscored Mary Baldwin 31-4.
Sophomore guard Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod led the team in scoring in the first quarter with eight points. Significant contributions also came from freshman forward Erin Lindahl and sophomore center Ashley Oldshue who scored seven and six points, respectively. Emory also played lock-down defense in the first quarter. Active defense on the perimeter prevented Mary Baldwin from getting the ball into the paint and forced contested shots from the floor.
By accumulating a large lead early, Head Coach Christy Thomaskutty was excited to give her younger players an opportunity to get ample playing time.
“I think our young players got a lot of experience. I think a couple of them learned that there is another gear they have to go into,” Thomaskutty explained.
Emory continued to outplay Mary Baldwin in the second quarter outscoring the Fighting Squirrels 25-12.
Senior guard Shellie Kaniut came alive in the second putting up eight points. The Mary Baldwin defense was unable to stop Kaniut’s swift moves with the basketball. She was consistently able to slice through the defense to convert on easy shots in the paint.
The Eagles slowed down in the second half as the final two quarters were played more competitively. Emory’s offensive attack relaxed a little bit and Mary Baldwin was more active on defense.
Emory tallied 17 points to Mary Baldwin’s 12 in the third quarter.
To begin the fourth quarter, senior guard Fran Sweeney flashed her talents both offensively and defensively. Sweeney was active recording six points with a steal in the final quarter.
Overall Sweeney scored 14 points, going 3-6 behind the arc, tallying six steals and grabbing six rebounds.
Sweeney discussed her role on the team noting her ability to play effective offense and defense.
“I see my role as a three point shooter, but I also see a big part on the defensive side as well,” Sweeney said.
Emory outscored Mary Baldwin by only one point in the fourth quarter.
Thomaskutty explained that her team’s inability to contest as many shots led to tighter play between the two teams.
“One of our biggest things is that we want to contest every shot and I don’t think we did as good a job of that late in the game,” Thomaskutty said.
Emory’s leading scorer was Jackson-Sherrod with 18 points. Freshman guard Lindsey Tse led the team with 10 assists and Oldshue was the top rebounder with 10.
The Eagles will face Sewanee: The University of the South (Tenn.) Tuesday, Nov. 29, at home.
