Sophomore Ashley Oldshue totaled 15 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Emory women's basketball team dropped a Friday evening nailbiter at Brandeis.  The Eagles fell to 13-6 overall, 4-4 in the University Athletic Association, following a 61-59 setback to the Judges who improved to 11-8 overall, 3-5 in the league.

Maria Jackson accounted for the Judges' winning bucket, coming up with a missed shot by teammate Paris Hodges and laying it in at the buzzer.  Jackson ended the contest with a game-high 20 points, sinking 10-of-22 field goal attempts along with a pair of free throws.

Brandeis opened the final quarter on a 9-0 run that erased a four-point Emory lead to go up by a 52-47 margin.  A timely three-pointer by freshman Erin Lindahl followed by a basket by senior Michelle Bevan knotted the score, but a triple by Frankie Pinto gave the hosts a 55-52 margin with 4:48 remaining.  The Eagles then held the Judges scoreless over the next four minutes while tallying six consecutive points, the first four coming via a pair of Oldshue baskets and capped by a Bevan drive to the rim, to claim a three-point edge, 58-55, with 1:13 on the clock.  A layup by Jackson cut the Eagles' lead to a point with 58 ticks remaining.  Emory turned the ball over on its next possession, which led to a pair of charity tosses by Pinto that enabled BU to reclaim the lead, 59-58, with 12 seconds left.  Oldshue tied the game with five seconds on the clock after making one of two from the stripe.  After calling a timeout, Brandeis inbounded the ball in front of its bench whereupon the ball ended in the hands of Paris Hodges who launched a jumper from the free throw line that careened off the backboard right into the hands of Jackson who beat the buzzer.

Emory ended the game shooting 35.2 percent (19 of 54) from the floor compared to BU's mark of 38.5 percent.  The Eagles were successful on 35 percent (7 of 20) from three-point range while the Judges hit just 3 of 15.   Emory finished with a 38-37 edge in rebounding, 21-13 over the final two quarters of action. 

Emory outpointed the Judges by a 20-13 margin in the third quarter, with freshmen Erin Lindahl and Alllison Chernow each scoring five points in the frame.  Trailing by a 32-29 score early in the stanza, a bucket by Oldshue cut the gap to one point before a triple by senior Shellie Kaniut gave the Eagles their first lead of the evening, 34-32, with 7:43 remaining.  BU scrapped back to take retake a 39-35 edge, but Emory closed out the final 4:53 on a 12-4 spurt, highlighted by Lindahl knocking a trey at the buzzer, to take a 47-43 lead into the final 10 minutes of action.

Oldshue wound up the game converting six-of-13 field goal attempts and three-of-four from the charity stripe in notching her 16^th straight and 18^th overall double-figure performance of the season.  Her 12 rebounds allowed her to register her fourth double-double of the year.  Chernow was the team's other double-digit scorer with 11 points.  Lindahl and Bevan each chipped in eight points.

 Brandeis never trailed during the opening 20 minutes of action, taking a 30-27 lead into halftime. The Judges connected on seven of their first nine field goal opportunities in racing to a 16-4 advantage with 5:36 left in the opening quarter.  Emory then closed out the frame on a 9-1 spurt, with four points coming from Oldshue, as BU misfired on its last 12 field goal attempts.   Chernow accounted for the Eagles' opening six points of the second stanza on back-to-back three pointers with the latter drawing Emory to within two points, 21-19 with 6:10 left.  Brandeis then scored seven unanswered points, capped by a triple by Pinto, to pull ahead by a 28-19 count.  The Eagles hung in and closed out the final 2:50 on an 8-2 charge with Bevan making four free throws and Oldshue along with freshman Sarena Ho sinking baskets to narrow the gap heading into the break. Emory hit on 36 percent (9 of 25) from the floor compared to BU's mark of 32.4 percent (12 of 37).  Oldshue and Chernow paced the Emory scoring effort with eight and six points, respectively.  Brandeis posted a 24-17 edge on the glass, and grabbed 14 offensive boards that it turned into 14 second-chance points.

Emory returns to action on Sunday (Feb. 5) when it plays at New York University.