Junior Shellie Kaniut led four Emory double-figure scorers with a season-high 20 points, but it wasn't enough as the Eagles came out on the short end of hard-fought battle Sunday afternoon contest at Washington University. The No. 10-ranked Bears raised their overall record to 15-3, 6-1 in the University Athletic Association, after escaping with a 75-68 decision over the Eagles who slipped to 10-8 overall, 1-6 in the league.
The setback negated an exceptional performance by Kaniut, who hit eight-of-10 field goal attempts, including three treys in four tries, in registering her fourth straight and eighth double-figure scoring effort of the season. Senior Ilene Tsao totaled 13 points and dished out five assists while junior Michelle Bevan added 12 points and six rebounds. Junior Fran Sweeney rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points, nine of which came on three triples.
Emory led, 46-43, with 5:51 left in the third quarter following a bucket by Bevan, but the Bears closed out the stanza on a 10-4 charge, with Amanda Martinez accounting for seven of those points, to take a four-point advantage heading into the final 10 minutes of play. Kaniut scored five of the Eagles' first 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a three pointer that knotted the score at 59-59 with 5:24 on the clock. After a three-point play by WU's Jordan Thompson, Emory turned the ball over on its next possession which led to a pair of Martinez free throws that extended the Bears' lead to five points. After another WU charity toss, a three pointer by Sweeney drew Emory to within three points with 2:40 left. On WU's following possession, Natalie Orr, who led all players with 21 points, made the most of a scramble, hitting a bucket that just beat the shot clock to put WU up, 67-62. After a pair of WU free throws, Sweeney kept Emory alive with another trey that drew the Eagles to within four points with 1:08 remaining. From there, the Bears held off Emory, hitting six-of-eight free throws down the stretch.
Emory outshot WU from the field, 44.3 percent (27 of 61) to 43.1 percent (22 of 51), while the Bears finished with an edge in three-point shooting, converting 46.2 percent (6 of 13) compared to the Eagles' 42.1 percent (8 of 19). Free throw shooting proved to be important in the final result as WU sank 25 in 38 attempts while Emory connected on six of eight. The Bears recorded a 35-32 advantage in rebounding with freshman Ashley Oldshue leading Emory in that department with a season-high nine rebounds.
Sparked by Tsao's 13 points and 50 percent (16 of 32) field goal shooting, Emory took a 39-34 lead into halftime. A basket by sophomore Lauren Weems followed by a three pointer by Tsao gave Emory a 28-27 advantage with 4:13 left in the second quarter. Six straight WU points, capped by a triple by Claudia Smith, put the Bears up by a 33-28 margin with 3:31 on the clock. The Eagles then finished out the remainder of the period with a flurry, outpointing the hosts by an 11-1 count in taking the five-point lead at the break. Tsao ignited things with a three pointer and later registered a three-point play. Kaniut added a trey while sophomore Lauren Weems scored the last basket of the half with 49 seconds left after coming up with a big steal. Emory held its own on the boards, posting a 20-12 edge in the category with freshman Oldshue pacing all players with seven caroms.
Emory returns to action next Friday (Feb. 5) when it hosts the University of Chicago.