GAME FACTS – Coming off a home weekend that saw it earn victories over Brandeis and New York University, the Emory women's basketball will pack its bags and take on the same two opponents, matching up against Brandeis on Friday (Feb. 5) followed by a Sunday tilt vs. NYU.
The Gosman Athletic Center on the Brandeis campus will serve as the site of the 57th meeting between the Eagles and Judges and tip is slated for 6:00 pm. On Sunday, the scene shifts to the Hunter College Sporstplex for the 57th clash between Emory and NYU, with a scheduled start time of 2:00 pm.
THE COACHES – Emory head coach Christy Thomaskutty (Tulane, '96) is in her 14th season in charge of the Eagles. She assumed her current duties prior to the start of the 2003-04 campaign and enters the Brandeis contest with a school and career mark of 185-161. Thomaskutty is assisted by Misha Jackson, Kim Coleman and Savannah Morgan.
Carol Simon (Colby, '85) is in her 30th campaign in charge of the Brandeis program and has compiled 420 victories, with a record of 223-134 over the past 14 campaigns.
In her fifth season at the helm of the NYU program is Lauren Hall-Gregory (Hofstra, '03). Heading into a Friday home game at Rochester, Hall-Gregory has registered a school and career record of 81-42. She has registered 20 or more wins twice and has three NCAA Tournament appearances to her credit.
2016-17 RECORDS – Emory posts an overall record of 13-5, 4-3 in the league. The Eagles have won four of their last five contests and are coming triumphs over Brandeis (61-50) and NYU (78-75) this past weekend. Emory used an 8-1 run over the final 2:34 of the game in securing the win against Brandeis while rallying from eight points down with 8:39 remaining vs. NYU. Sophomore Ashley Oldshue averaged 19.5 points and shot 55.6 percent (15 of 27) from the floor over the two battles, leading all players with 19 points in the BU affair while totaling 20 points against NYU. Senior Michelle Bevan played a pivotal role in the win over the Violets, posting her third double-double of the campaign with a career-high tying 21-point, personal-best 12 rebound effort.
So far this year, the Eagles are 7-1 at home and 6-4 in road/neutral settings.
Brandeis hosts Emory with an overall ledger of 10-8 and is 2-5 in conference action. The Judges have dropped their last four outings including a 75-58 outcome at Rochester this past Sunday. Brandeis stands 7-2 in games played on its home floor this season.
NYU will host Rochester with a 10-8 overall slate, 0-7 in the UAA. The Violets will begin the weekend with a 7-2 won-lost slate in games played in NYC.
SERIES RECORDS – Emory's triumph over Brandeis last Friday upped its edge in the all-time series to 30-26. The Eagles have now won three of the past four match-ups vs. BU. The Judges have captured 15 of the 27 games played on their home floor and have been victorious in the last three affairs played in Waltham.
In a series that has its origins in January of 1989, NYU holds an all-time record of 40-16 vs. Emory. The Violets are 22-5 vs. the Eagles in games played in New York.
EMORY TRIO SERVE AS CAPTAINS – Serving as captains of the 2016-17 Emory women's basketball team are seniors Michelle Bevan (Houston, TX) and Shellie Kaniut (Vienna, VA) and Fran Sweeney (Germantown, PA).
BEVAN PROVIDES PUNCH – Michelle Bevan's standout performance of 21 points and 12
rebounds against Brandeis represented her third double-double of the year, all of which have come over the Eagles' last five games. She knocked down a career-high tying 10 field goals in 13 attempts, including her lone three-point attempt of the day en route to her sixth double-digit performance of the season, five of which have come over the last seven contests.
Over her last five games, Bevan is averaging 11.0 points and 8.4 rebounds. In addition, she is shooting 57.1 percent (24 of 42) from the floor.
Through seven league outings, she is third on the squad and tied for 16th on the conference scoring ladder with a 10.9 per-game average. Her 50.8 percent (31 of 61) mark from the field places her No. 5 in the loop. Bevan is pulling down a team-best 7.3 rebounds in league action, the seventh-best mark in the UAA. In overall play, her 5.9 per-game mark on the boards is 15th.
KANIUT PLAYS KEY ROLE IN BRANDEIS WIN – Shellie Kaniut posted her fifth straight and 13th double-figure scoring effort when she totaled 16 points against Brandeis. She tallied 11 points over the final two quarters of action and her jumper with 2:34 left began an 8-1 Emory run that closed out the game, and which included her sinking a pair of charity tosses with 53 ticks on the clock that closed out the scoring for the evening. In addition to her offensive production, she paced the club with a career-high tying eight rebounds, the second time this season she ranked as the Eagles' leader on the glass.
The Eagles' leading scorer on seven occasions this season, Kaniut finds herself second on the club and eighth in the league in scoring with a 13.6 points-per-game average. She has totaled three contests of 20 or more points. In league play, she is 11th in the conference in scoring (13.4 ppg).
Her output from last weekend upped her career total to 840 points, good for 16th place on the program's all-time list.
OLDSHUE CONTINUES STEADY PLAY – Ashley Oldshue came through with two more double-figure scoring games last weekend, producing a team-high 19 points against Brandeis before ranking second on the team with 20 points, hitting eight-of-11 from the floor and all four free throws, vs. NYU. She was successful on 55.6 percent (15 of 27) from the field and nine-of-10 from the free throw line.
Oldshue, who has either led or shared for team scoring honors on six occasions this year, is in the midst of a team-high 15-game double-figure scoring streak (17 on the season). Her 16.3 per-game overall scoring effort tops the club, is sixth among UAA players and currently sixth on the program's seasonal list. Her 55.9 percent showing (104 of 186) from the field by far leads the squad, slots her in the No. 4 position on the league chart and is 24th among all D-III players (through Jan. 29). One of the UAA's top free throw shooters, her 79.4 percent (85 of 107) effort from the stripe paces team and is fifth in the UAA. In conference action, she finds herself tied for fifth on the league's scoring ladder (17.0 ppg) and is second in field goal percentage (.594, 41 of 69).
Her 85 free throws ties the fourth-highest seasonal total in school history and she is just 13 shy of tying Beth Bergmann's No. 1 standard of 98 set during the 2004-05 campaign.
She has been consistent on the boards, pulling down 7.1 caroms per contest, good for seventh on the league list. She has finished with seven or more rebounds in 11 games, and her per-game average of 3.5 offensive rebounds is second in the UAA.
SWEENEY A LONG-RANGE THREAT – Fran Sweeney knocked down a pair of three-point field in both of last weekend's contest and heads to Brandeis with triples to her credit over the last seven games and four consecutive with two or more. So far this year, Sweeney has drained two or more treys on 12 occasions.
Sweeney holds down the No. 3 position on the UAA list in three-point shooting with a 42.1 percent (40 of 95) mark, good for 14th place in the D-III ranks. Her 40 treys ties for 13th place on the Emory's seasonal chart.
Her 2.2 treys per contest is good for the No. 2 spot on the UAA ladder. Career-wise, her 137 three-point field goals ranks fourth all-time in program history.
EMORY STRONG ON THE GLASS – Emory has been formidable when it comes to rebounding, enjoying an edge in that department in 14 games. Heading into the road game at Brandeis, the Eagles post a 43.6-35.3 per-game advantage, and stand second in the UAA and 30th in D-III in rebound margin (+8.3).
Emory has finished 10 games with a double-digit advantage on the glass, two of which have come during UAA play.
NUMBERS TO NOTE – Fran Sweeney's 10-point outing vs. NYU represented her seventh double-figure performance of the season and 22nd of her career … Ashley Oldshue has been successful on 50 percent or better of her field goal attempts in eight of her last nine contests and is connecting at a 63.8 percent (53 of 83) clip during that stretch … Freshman Erin Lindahl finished with six rebounds in both the Brandeis and NYU games, giving her eight contests this season with six or more caroms … Lindahl ranks 20th among UAA players in overall rebound average (4.5 rpg) … The Eagles tied their conference high for the season when they shot 75 percent (12 of 16) from the free throw line vs. Brandeis … Michelle Bevan has four double-doubles during her career and 25 double-figure scoring performances … Shellie Kaniut has 42 career contests of double-figure scoring to her credit … Emory holds down the No. 2 position in the UAA in overall scoring defense (60.7 ppg) … Brandeis finished with just a 28.6 percent effort in field goal shooting, the fourth time this season that the Eagles held an opponent to less than 30 percent … Emory is tied for third in the UAA with an average 14.2 offensive rebounds per games … Emory closed out the NYU game with 22 assists, the fifth time this year it registered 20 or more … The Eagles stand first in the UAA and 10th in D-III (through Jan. 29) with an average of 17.9 assists per game … Freshman Lindsey Tse paces the UAA in both overall assists average (4.6 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (2.7) … Tse ranks seventh among all D-III performers (through Jan. 29) in assist/turnover ratio, and her seven assists against NYU … Tse, who has six games of six or more assists this year, has dished out 19 assists with just six turnovers in her last four outings … Emory is averaging 78.5 points and shooting 45.6 percent (396 of 869) from the floor in its 13 victories vs. 69.6 points and 42.2 percent from the field in its five setbacks … Emory has outscored the opposition in 41 quarters while being outpointed in 24 – seven quarters have been tied … Ashley Oldshue has turned in six games of five or more offensive caroms … The Eagles are averaging 72.4 points and surrendering 59.2 points in their eight home games … In its 10 road/neutral contests, Emory is averaging 78.9 points and allowing 61.9 points … Emory is connecting at 34.0 percent (89 of 262) from three-point range in overall play, good for third in the league and 44th among all D-III programs (through Jan. 29) … Emory has won 39 of its last 51 and 55 of its last 70 home games … The Eagles have won their last 22 and are 46-4 during Thomaskutty's tenure as head coach when scoring 80 or more points (4-0 in '16-17; 2-0 in '15-16; 1-0 in '14-15; 5-0 in 2013-14; and 7-0 in 2012-13) ... The Eagles have attempted more free throws than their opposition in 13 games … Emory has enjoyed an edge in field goal shooting in 13 games and stands 12-1 in those affairs … Shellie Kaniut has totaled 85 career treys and is 10th all-time at the school … Kaniut has been a force at the defensive end of the floor with her 39 steals leading the team, while her 2.2 per-game average in that department is second in the UAA … Kaniut has two or more thefts to her credit in 11 games this season … Career-wise, Kaniut is No. 8 all-time at Emory with 158 steals … Emory has finished with an advantage in second-chance points in 13 games.