The 2011-12 Emory women’s basketball team enjoyed a breakout year with the Eagles turning in the program's most successful season since the 1996-97 campaign. For the second straight year, head coach Christy Thomaskutty started a relatively young but more experienced group that featured two sophomores, two juniors and one senior.  Using a combination of a potent offense that averaged the fifth-highest point total in school history, a swarming and attacking defense and a continuing overall maturity, Emory made its presence felt both during the non-conference portion of the schedule as well as the UAA where it made a dramatic jump in the league standings. 

For the record, Emory finished with an overall ledger of 18-7 that represented the program's third-highest victory mark.  Included in the team's win total were a school-record 10 triumphs on enemy courts.  In UAA affairs, Emory battled its way to a 9-5 performance, tying the third-highest win effort in school annals, while its third-place finish in the loop was the school's highest since 1998-99.  The Eagles established three school game records and set one season record during the course of the campaign which included the following accomplishments:

** Lead the UAA and rank 18th nationally in scoring average (72.6 ppg).

** Top the UAA and stand sixth in the D-III ranks with a 36.7 percent mark from three-point range with that effort tying for third on the school's seasonal list.

** Pace the UAA and rank 17th nationally in three-point field goals per game (7.0 tpg).

** Registering a conference-leading 11.9 steals per game, 48th nationally and second on the Eagles' seasonal list.

** Lead the conference and hold down the No. 30 position nationally in turnover margin (5.16).

** Setting a school season record with 175 three-point field goals, knocking down 10 or more treys in four contests.

** Registering 297 steals, the second-highest season showing in school history.

** Knocking down a school single-game record of 13 three-point field goals at Brandeis (Jan. 15, 2012).

** Establishing a school single-game record with a 65.3 percent effort (32-of- 49) in field goal shooting in an 84-57 win over Spelman (Dec. 2).

** Totaling a school-record 26 steals against Carnegie Mellon (Jan. 20, 2012).

Emory faced the daunting challenge of playing eight of its opening 10 games of the season on the road.  The Eagles fared well during that treacherous stretch, posting an 8-2 slate that included victories over LaGrange College (80-58) and Birmingham Southern (72-59) in their only two home appearances.    After seeing a five-game win streak snapped with a loss at Piedmont, Emory regrouped and recorded three straight double-figure victories on the road that included another win against LaGrange, a contest where sophomore Hannah Lilly exploded for a career-high 30 points. 

The Eagles opened the UAA portion of its schedule with a loss at home to No. 5 Rochester before bouncing back to claim five consecutive victories, starting with a three-point decision at the Woodruff PE Center against eventual NCAA Tournament participant Maryville in the final non-conference game of the season.  After disposing of the Lady Scots, Thomaskutty and her charges ventured East and posted a pair of 20-point plus wins at NYU and Brandeis, the first time since 2008 that an Eagle team had swept that trip.   Emory returned home the following weekend and kept rolling with a 59-55 outcome over Carnegie Mellon, followed by a 68-56 decision against Case Western that raised the team's overall slate to 13-3 and tied the 1994-95 team for the best 16-game record in school history.

The Eagles then hit a tough patch losing three straight games to a pair of top-7 ranked opponents including a pair to No. 2-ranked Chicago, an eventual Sweet 16 squad, and a tough overtime road decision to No. 7 Washington University.  After the second setback to the Maroons, Emory gained a measure of revenge against the No. 8 Bears at home with an 82-72 win.  That win propelled the Eagles to a solid homestretch that saw them earn victories in four of their final five outings of the year including a 79-68 outcome at No. 19 Rochester.

Hannah Lilly enjoyed an outstanding sophomore campaign that culminated with her earning Honorable Mention All-America honors as chosen by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, the first Emory player since 1998 to garner any sort of All-America acclaim.  The 5-foot-8 Lilly led the team and UAA in scoring in both overall (17.2 ppg) and conference (17.1 pgg) play and totaled double-figure scoring on 22 occasions.  A First Team All-UAA selection, Lilly topped the league and ranked sixth nationally in three-point field goals per game (2.96 tpg), and her 41.6 percent showing from beyond the arc ranked first in the conference while placing 15th in D-III.  Tabbed as the UAA Player of the Week twice during the season, her 431 points were the fourth-highest Emory seasonal total while her 74 three pointers were the second-highest seasonal showing in school annals, just one shy of tying the top mark.

Junior Misha Jackson completed her second season with the program and made significant improvement in both her scoring and rebounding averages from her first year.  The 5-foot-11 Jackson established herself as one of the UAA's top frontliners, ranking second on the team and fourth among conference players with a 13.0 points-per-game scoring average.  A Second Team All-UAA pick, her 8.0 rebounds per game led the squad and was good for the No. 4 spot on the league ladder.  At the conclusion of the year, she stood among the UAA's top 10 performers in eight statistical categories and produced a league-high eight double-doubles. 

Sophomore Savannah Morgan effectively directed the Emory offense from her point guard spot with her school seasonal record of 5.7 assists per game leading the UAA and placing 10th nationally in the D-III ranks.  The 5-foot-8 Morgan doled out a school-record 142 assists and wound up second in the conference and 25th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.8).  The 5-foot-8 Morgan, who played a team-high 30.7 minutes per contest, landed Honorable Mention All-UAA recognition and was part of a ball-hawking Emory defense with a conference-leading 59 steals.

Bolstering the play of the frontline was junior Danielle Landry, a starter in 19 of the team's 25 contests.  The 6-foot Landry grabbed 6.3 rebounds per outing, good for the No. 2 spot on the team and seventh in the UAA, and led or shared for team rebounding honors on 11 occasions.  Landry averaged a career-high 8.4 points per game and chalked up 10 performances of double-figure scoring.

The 2011-12 season closed out the careers of Becca Feldman, Melissa Koike and Emily Hyncik.   Both Feldman and Koike were four-year members of the program while Hyncik played two years after transferring after a two-year stay at Sacred Heart University.  Feldman played in a total of 91 games during her stint as an Eagle and knocked down a total of 76 three-point field goals, eighth all-time at the school.   Koike took to the court in 96 contests (tied for 15th on Emory's career chart) and finished in 16th place on the school's all-time ladder with 100 steals.   Hyncik, who gave Emory numerous lifts with her outside shooting ability, logged 41 games of action and finished fourth on the school's all-time list in three-point field goal percentage (.363).