GAME FACTS – The Emory women's basketball team puts its undefeated streak on the line this weekend when it plays host to a pair of University Athletic Association foes.  On Friday (Jan. 17), the Eagles take on Carnegie Mellon in a 6:00 pm tip before clashing with Case Western Reserve on Sunday starting at approximately 2:00 pm.

THE COACHES – Emory Head Coach Christy Thomaskutty (Tulane, '96) is in her 11th season in charge of the Eagles.  She assumed her current duties prior to the start of the 2003-04 campaign and owns a school and career mark of 143-122.  Last year, Thomaskutty guided the program to an overall record of 24-4, and its first-ever UAA title (12-2).  Emory earned the school's first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 1997, advancing to the third round.  For her efforts, Thomaskutty and her staff were recognized as the UAA Coaches of the Year. In addition, she was recognized by D3hoops.com as the South Region Coach of the Year.  Thomaskutty is assisted by Katherine Menendez, Misha Jackson, Kim Coleman and Jessica Davis.  

In her third year as the head coach of the Carnegie Mellon program is Jacquie Hullah (Cal State Fullerton, '78).  During her stint with the Tartans, Hullah has compiled a won-lost mark of 31-32.  Now in her 15^th campaign as a head coach, which includes a nine-year stop at Dartmouth and a three-year run at Arizona State, Hullah enters Friday's contest with a career showing of 189-187. 

Jennifer Reimer (Lycoming, '94) is in her seventh season calling the shots at Case Western Reserve.  Reimer has guided the Spartan to five winning seasons and last year's 16 victories represented the highest total for the program since 2001-02.  In 17 years as a head coach, Reimer starts the weekend with a career mark of 244-176.

2013-14 RECORDS – Emory begins the second weekend on conference play with an overall record of 12-0 (1-0 UAA).  The Eagles, ranked 8^th by USA Today Sports and 9^th by D3hoops.com, the highest positions ever for the Eagles as selected by those organizations, opened league action last Saturday (Jan. 11) with a solid 74-43 victory over Rochester.  Freshman Shellie Kaniut and senior Selena Castillo tied for game scoring honors with 14 points apiece with Castillo adding six rebounds and six steals.  Emory held UR to just 30.8 percent from the floor and its harassing defense forced the Yellowjackets to turn the ball over on 30 occasions.  Emory is 5-0 in home games and 7-0 in road/neutral contests. 

The win over Rochester extended the squad's school record for most consecutive victories, bettering the previous standard of 10 which had been set twice. 

Carnegie Mellon comes to town with an overall slate of 9-3.  The Tartans saw a four-game win streak come to an end on Saturday when they dropped their conference opener at Case Western by a 77-54 margin.  CMU is 5-0 in home contests, 4-3 in road/neutral venues.

SERIES RECORDS – Emory holds a 32-17 lead in all-time series with Carnegie Mellon that began in December of 1988.  The Eagles have captured the last six meetings including last year's 66-64 (at CMU) and 76-55 (in Atlanta) verdicts.  Emory has won 18 of the 24 meetings played on its home floor including the last three and nine of the last 10 at the Woodpec.

Case posts a 23-17 edge in the all-time series with Emory which saw the first game played in December of 1988.  The Eagles have narrowed the gap in the series by winning four of their last five encounters vs. the Spartans including last season's 75-57 decision in Cleveland followed by a 62-61 overtime triumph in Atlanta.  Emory is 10-9 vs. Case in games played on its home floor.

EMORY DUO TO SERVE AS CAPTAINS – Serving as captains of the 2013-14 Emory women's basketball team are seniors Savannah Morgan (San Jose, CA) and Hannah Lilly (Mercer Island, WA).  

KANIUT MAKING PRESENCE FELT AS A ROOKIE – Freshman Shellie Kaniut has played a key role in the Eagles' 12-0 record, starting in all 11 games that she has seen action in.  The 5-foot-7 Kaniut is scoring at a 7.9 per-game clip, good for the No. 4 spot on the squad, and has produced five double-figure scoring contests.   In the win over Rochester last weekend, Kaniut tied teammate Selena Castillo with a game-high 14 points, a dozen coming on the strength of a season-high four three-point field goals.  It was the second time this year that she had paced the Eagles in scoring, with the other occasion coming against Oglethorpe (Nov. 20) in a 77-50 win.

Kaniut, who has shot 50 percent or better from the floor on five occasions, paces the team with a 45.8 percent field goal percentage (38-of-83), good for 15^th place among UAA players.  In addition, she is grabbing 3.6 rebounds per game, the fourth-highest effort on the club.

MORGAN DIRECTS EMORY ATTACK--  As the weekend approaches, Savannah Morgan  continues to pace the squad in both scoring and assists. Morgan's 14.6 points-per-game average is fifth among UAA players, while her 5.2 assists average is good for the top spot on the league ladder and 34^th nationally in NCAA stats released on Monday.

Morgan is among the conference's top 10 performers in a total of eight categories including free throw percentage (8^th, .727), steals (5^th, 2.4 spg), three-point field goal percentage (5^th, .405),  assist/turnover ratio (2nd, 2.3, 27^th nationally),  minutes (t-3^rd, 30.3 mpg) and three pointers per game (t-8^th, 1.4 tpg).

Morgan has come up with nine double-figure scoring performances and has three outings of 20 or more points, most recently vs. Johns Hopkins (Jan. 4) in a 72-67 win.  Morgan has led the Eagles in scoring in four games.

Career-wise, Morgan continues her climb to reach 1,000-point plateau, entering Friday vs. Carnegie Mellon with 954 career points (9^th all-time at Emory).

STEALS LEADING TO POINTS -- Emory recorded 19 steals in the Rochester game, its sixth straight and 11^th contest this season with double-figure thefts.   The Eagles lead the UAA and rank fourth nationally in Division III in steals with a 15.8 per-game average and claim three of the league's top five individuals in that category.  Senior Selena Castillo, coming off a six-steals effort against Rochester, ranks first in the league and 21^st nationally in steals with a 3.67 per-game average, while sophomore Khadijah Sayyid holds down the No. 3 position among conference players with a 2.73 per-game showing.  Rounding out the trio is Savannah Morgan whose 2.42 average is fifth.

Emory's 19 thefts in the Rochester outing helped account for a total of 30 opponent turnovers, which in turn led to Emory generating 29 points.  After 12 outings, Emory enjoys a 347-122 advantage in the points off turnovers category (28.9 ppg vs. 10.1 ppg).  

NOTES –  Emory's 37-16 halftime lead over Rochester represented the seventh time this year that it had led by double digits at the break … The Eagles have held the opposition to 20 or fewer points in six halves this season … Khadijah Sayyid's four steals in the Rochester contest marked her seventh multiple-theft game of the year … Selena Castillo's six rebounds against Rochester represented the sixth time this year that she paced the team in that department … Castillo heads into the weekend as the team's leading rebounder with a 5.3 per-game average … Over the last three games, the opposition is shooting 31.7 percent (13-of-41) from three-point range compared to Emory's mark of 35.6 percent (21-of-59) … Freshman Michelle Bevan came off the bench and totaled a season-high 10 points in the win over Rochester, sinking a season high five field goals in seven opportunities … Bevan has at least one rebound in all 12 games and has been in the scoring column on 10 occasions … Entering the weekend, Hannah Lilly has recorded 65 career double-figure scoring contests … Lilly is fifth all-time at Emory in scoring with 1,230 points and is eyeing Alicia Moore's (1994-98) fourth-place mark of 1,264 points …  Lilly is second on the team and sixth among UAA players in scoring average (14.5 ppg) while ranking first in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.457, 32-of-70) … Emory finished with 20 assists on 30 baskets against Rochester, the fourth time in '13-14 that it had registered 20 or more assists … Emory has eight double-digit victories to its credit and its +20.2 scoring margin is third in the conference and 11^th nationally … Emory has enjoyed an edge in the rebounding department on six occasions and grabbed 12 or more offensive boards in 11 games … The Eagles are snaring 16.4 offensive caroms per contest vs. 10.4 for opponents … Opponents have attempted more free throws than Emory in eight games this year … Both Savannah Morgan and Selena Castillo have registered steals in every game … Castillo's six steals in the Rochester contest , her ninth multiple-theft game of the year, upped her career total to 190, good for the No. 3 position on Emory's all-time list … No. 2 on the school's career steals ladder is Mandy Jackson (1991-95) with 217 … Castillo is third on the team's score sheet and holds down the No. 12 spot in the league in scoring (12.5 ppg) … The Eagles have outscored the opposition in 19 of 24 halves … Emory has won its last 13 and 31 of its last 34 home games … The Eagles are outpointing the opposition by a 75.0-59.6 margin in the five games that have been played at the Woodruff PE Center … The Eagles have turned the ball over fewer times than their opposition in all 12 games and by far are the UAA leaders in turnover margin (+13.8) … Emory is averaging 35.4 points during the first half of play (25.6 for the opposition) and 39.4 over the final 20 minutes of action (29.0 for the opposition) … The Eagles have won their last 13 and are 37-4 during Thomaskutty's tenure as head coach when scoring 80 or more points (3-0 in 2013-14, 7-0 in 2012-13) … Emory has trailed at halftime on three occasions this year (36-31 vs. Salem, 37-30 vs. Maryville and 38-28 vs. Piedmont) but have bounced back to win …  Emory's come-from-behind win at Piedmont on Dec. 31 represented the first time since Jan. 24, 2010, that an Eagle team had rallied to win after facing a double-digit halftime deficit.  Emory trailed Piedmont by a 38-28 margin before earning a 73-70 victory.  In the 2010 game at Brandeis, the Eagles trailed by a 35-24 margin at the break before finishing with a 73-65 decision … Emory set a school record with 14 three-point field goals in the LaGrange contest (Nov. 26), topping the 13 triples the Eagles converted against Brandeis on Jan. 15, 2012.