The Emory women’s basketball team battled back from a 15-point halftime deficit but came up short as it fell to No. 12 Rochester Saturday afternoon in the regular-season finales for both teams.  Emory closed out the year with an overall record of 11-14, 4-10 in the University Athletic Association, following an 81-72 setback to the Yellowjackets who boosted their record to 20-5, 10-4 in the league.

Freshman Savannah Morgan led the Emory scoring attack with a season-high 19 points, 13 coming in the second half.  Morgan ended the afternoon sinking eight-of-12 from the floor and all three of her free throw opportunities en route to her 10^th double-digit of the year.  Freshman Hannah Lillly added 15 points while sophomore Misha Jackson rounded out the team’s double-figure scorers with 12 points. 

Rochester ended the afternoon shooting 50 percent from the  floor (27-of-54) while Emory connected on 43.8 percent (28-of-64).  The Yellowjackets were successful on 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from beyond the arc compared to the Eagles’ 25.0 percent showing (5-of-20). 

During the first half of action, Emory was outshot from the floor, hitting 37.5 percent (9-of-24) of its field goal attempts compared to UR’s 51.4 percent (18-of-35).  The Yellowjackets used a tough inside game to post a 26-8 edge in the points-in-the-paint category, keyed by Madeline’s Korber’s eight points. Emory trailed by six points, 20-14, with 11:01 left in the opening stanza following a pair of free throws by sophomore Danielle Landry, but Rochester rattled off an 11-2 spurt, capped by a three-pointer by Melissa Alwardt, to take a 31-16 bulge with 5:48 remaining.  A bucket by senior Courtney Von Stein drew Emory to within eight points with 2:24 on the clock but the Yellowjackets scored the half’s final seven points, with Alwardt knocking down another triple to take a 42-27 cushion into halftime.  Alwardt led UR’s scoring first-half scoring attack with 11 points while Landry topped the Eagles with seven points.

Emory came charging out the gates during the early stages of the second half, using a 13-4 run to draw to within 46-40 with 15:00 left following a three-point field goal by Lilly. After five straight points by Rochester, a Lilly triple and a Jackson put-back sandwiched by a Rochester bucket made the score 52-45 in favor of the visitors.  After UR took a 10-point edge, 59-49, eight straight Emory points, started by a Lilly three-pointer, enabled it battle to within two points with 6:07 remaining.  A trey by Alwardt with 5:18 on the clock upped Rochester’s lead to 64-59 but back-to-back baskets by Misha Jackson cut the gap to one point, 64-63, with 4:00 left.  The Yellowjackets’ Maney Ling countered with a three-pointer from the corner and a pair of foul shots to increase UR’s lead to five points with 1:54 remaining.  Emory stayed within striking distance on its ensuing possession when Morgan hit a jumper with 1:40 on the clock.   Alwardt then sank her fifth triple and sixth triples of the game to up Rochester’s lead to 75-65, effectively ending Emory’s comeback bid.  Alwardt turned in big effort for Rochester with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds.  She hit seven-of-12 from the floor including six-of-ten from three-point range.