The Emory women's basketball team closed out a grueling seven-game road swing with a hard-fought Sunday afternoon loss to the University of Chicago. The Eagles saw their overall record slip to 8-6 overall (0-3 in the UAA) following a 70-57 setback to the Maroons, who won for the fifth time in their last six outings while boosting their overall slate to 8-6 (2-1 UAA).
Junior Khadijah Sayyid led the Eagles' scoring attack for the 10th time this year, pumping in a game-high 23 points, her fifth performance of 20-plus points of the campaign. Sayyid, who scored 19 second-half points, wound up the day sinking seven-of-13 from the floor, including all four of her three-point opportunities, and five-of-seven from the foul line. Sophomore Shellie Kaniut rounded out the team's double-figure scorers with 12 points, converting five-of-10 field goal attempts.
Emory hit 40.8 percent (20-of-49) from the field compared to UC's effort of 48.9 percent (22-of-45). The Eagles knocked down eight-of-12 from three-point range (6-of-7 in the second half) while the Maroons were successful on just five of their 17 attempts. Chicago enjoyed a big edge at the charity stripe, sinking 21-of-28, vs. Emory's nine makes in 14 attempts.
After facing an 11-point halftime deficit, the Eagles trailed by a 49-38 count with 13:46 left in the game before staging a timely 13-5 charge, capped by a Sayyid triple and aided by five points from Kaniut, to draw to within a 54-51 score with 8:02 remaining. UC then answered with seven consecutive points that built its lead to 10 points with 3:25 on the clock. Sayyid, who scored the Eagles' last nine points of the contest, knocked down a trey with 2:22 remaining that cut Emory's deficit to eight points, but UC scored its last seven points from the free throw line over the final 1:28 of the contest to seal the victory.
Bogged down by a slow start that saw it convert just one of its first eight field goals, while committing four turnovers, Emory saw Chicago bolt to a 16-2 lead with 12:39 left in the first half. The Eagles did regroup and sliced the gap to seven points with 7:47 remaining following a basket by sophomore Patricia Mook. However, the Maroons answered with a 9-2 burst, capped by five straight points from Claire Devaney, to claim a 32-18 cushion with 3:15 on the clock. UC would take a 37-26 margin into halftime, thanks in part to 50 percent (14-of-28) field goal shooting compared to Emory's 36 percent (9-of-25) mark. Kaniut led the Eagles in scoring with seven points.
Emory returns to action on Friday, Jan. 23, when it hosts Case Western Reserve.