Senior Selena Castillo scored 14 of her team-high 18 points in the second half but it wasn't enough as the No. 7-ranked Emory women's basketball team dropped its first game of the year Friday evening at New York University.  The Eagles fell to 14-1 overall, 3-1 in the University Athletic Association, following a 77-71 setback to the No. 23  Violets who boosted their overall slate to 14-1, 3-1 in the league.

The Eagles, who entered the game looking for their first 4-0 start in conference play since 1994-95, ended the evening shooting 38.6 percent (27-of-70) from the field while NYU, which won for the ninth time in as many outings on its home floor, shot an even 50 percent (27-of-54), an opponent high vs. Emory this season.  Emory struggled from beyond the arc, sinking seven-of-25 attempts, while NYU converted four of its nine tries.   NYU finished with a 44-35 edge in the rebounding department with each team grabbing 16 offensive rebounds.

Castillo's point total represented her 11^th double-figure scoring effort of the year and the fourth time that she ranked as the club's leading scorer.  Senior Gabi Whitmer came through with a solid effort, registering 13 points on five-of-six field goal shooting, while topping all players with a career-high 12 rebounds.  Whitmer's 12 caroms established the individual high-water mark by an Emory player this year.  Seniors Savannah Morgan and Hannah Lilly rounded out the team's double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Emory faced a nine-point hole, 41-32, with 16:14 left in the game following a pair of free throws by the Violets' Megan Dawe, but responded with a 15-6 run, keyed by a pair of three pointers by Castillo and finished off by a three-point play by Whitmer, to draw to within a 49-47 count with 12:26 remaining.   NYU's Kaitlyn Read, who topped all players with 26 points,  gave the Violets a 55-51 edge after a pair of makes at the foul line, but Emory responded with a three pointer by freshman Shellie Kaniut followed by a Whitmer bucket to take a one-point lead.   A 7-2 NYU spurt, ended by a trey by Read, pushed the home team to a 62-58 advantage but a Castillo basket cut the Eagles' deficit to two points with 7:30 left in the contest.   After a big three pointer by Emory's Khadijah Sayyid cut a seven-point deficit to four points, layups by Alexis Doherty and Read boosted the Violets to a 71-63 lead with 3:36 on the clock.  A pair of charity tosses by Castillo, her 13^th and 14^th points on the second half, kept Emory to within four points with 1:23 left, and the Eagles kept the pressure on after forcing a NYU turnover on its ensuing possession.   However, the Eagles misfired on its next four shot attempts before two free throws by Melissa Peng upped NYU's advantage to 75-69 with just 24 seconds left.

NYU lead for the majority of the first half, shooting 50 percent from the floor (12-of-24), compared to Emory's 35.5 percent (11-of-31), in claiming a 33-28 lead at the break.  NYU took an 11-4 lead early, but 10 straight Emory points, highlighted by a three pointer by Morgan, and a three-point play by Whitmer, enabled Emory to take a 14-11 advantage with 10:07 remaining.   After Emory tied the game at 26-26 following a free throw by Whitmer, the Violets scored seven straight points to take a 33-26 edge with one minute left in the stanza.  A bucket by Whitmer with 33 ticks on the clock closed out the scoring for the opening 20 minutes of play.  Morgan led the Eagles' first-half scoring effort with seven points while Whitmer chipped in six points.   NYU's Megan Dawe led all scorers in the opening stanza with 12 points, hitting all four of her field goal tries and four-of-five from the charity stripe.   Dawe concluded the contest with 18 points, hitting six-of-eight from the floor and six of her seven field goal attempts.

Emory returns to action on Sunday (Jan. 26) when it plays at Brandeis University in a 2:00 pm start.