GAME FACTS – The Emory women's basketball team looks forward to returning home this weekend for a pair of University Athletic Association contests. On Friday (Jan. 26), the Eagles will play the University of Chicago in a 6:00 pm start before taking on a Sunday afternoon meeting vs. Washington University in a 2:00 pm scheduled start.
THE COACHES – Interim Head Coach Misha Jackson (Emory, '13) was appointed to her current post in October of this year, following the resignation of Christy Thomaskutty. Jackson had served as an assistant on the Eagles' staff since the 2013-14 season. She played three seasons in an Eagle uniform (2010-11 through 2012-13), seeing action in a total of 78 games, 69 in a starting capacity. She closed out her career ranked among the program's top-10 all-time performers in 11 categories.
Jackson is assisted by Lauren Rothfeld and Chuck Melito.
Carissa Sain Knoche (Carnegie Mellon, '05) is in her sixth season at the helm of the Chicago program. Heading into the Emory game, she has posted a school record of 89-54. Last year, Sain Knoche and her assistants were named the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year.
In her first campaign patrolling the sidelines at Wash U is Randi Henderson (Iowa, '01). Prior to her appointment in June of 2017, Henderson had spent two years as an assistant coach at Charlotte. In 11 years as a head coach, which includes a nine-year run at Coe College and one season at Minnesota-Morris, Henderson claims a career slate of 183-105.
2017-18 RECORDS – Emory checks in with an overall record of 10-6 (4-1 UAA). The Eagles are in the midst of a four-game win streak after notching victories at NYU (69-64) last Friday and Brandeis (53-39) on Sunday.
Junior Ashley Oldshue was one of Emory's standouts in the NYU contest, racking up a team-high 16 points along with a game-high 16 rebounds (her sixth double-double of the campaign), with her total on the boards tying her second-highest career total.
Classmate Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod was the Eagles' leading scorer in the Brandeis contest with a career-best 22 points while Oldshue grabbed 14 rebounds.
Emory is 5-4 at the Woodruff PE Center and 5-2 in road contests.
Chicago, ranked 21st in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, has built an impressive overall record of 14-2 and is tied with Rochester for the top spot in the UAA with a 5-0 ledger. The Maroons are riding a 12-game win streak that includes this past weekend's triumphs at Carnegie Mellon (82-62) and Case Western Reserve (91-46). UC is 7-0 in road/neutral games and 7-2 at home.
Wash U goes into a Friday night road encounter against No. 7 Rochester with an overall ledger of 12-4, 3-2 in the conference. The Bears have won their last three games and are coming off triumphs at Case Western (78-61) and Carnegie Mellon (83-69). WU has won seven of eight road/neutral contests and is 5-3 at home.
SERIES RECORDS – In a series that began in February of 1989, Chicago holds an all-time record of 37-20 against Emory. The teams split last year's two contests, with Emory winning, 74-71, in Atlanta and the Maroons posting a 77-56 triumph in Chicago. Chicago stands 17-12 against the Eagles in games played at the Woodruff PE Center, though the Eagles have won the last four.
Wash U has won 51 of the 57 meetings between the two schools. The Bears have won the last 10 match-ups.
EMORY TRIO TO SERVE AS CAPTAINS – Serving as captains of the 2017-18 Emory women's basketball team are junior Ashley Oldshue (Glenview, IL), and sophomores Allison Chernow (Dresher, PA) and Erin Lindahl (Yardley, PA).
OLDSHUE TOPS EAGLES IN SCORING AND REBOUNDING – Ashley Oldshue's 16-point, 16-rebound performance in the win over NYU represented her sixth double-double of the campaign and 10th of her career. She followed that with a 14-rebound afternoon against Brandeis, her seventh double-digit outing of the year in that department and 11th in her career.
The Eagles' top scorer on eight occasions this year, Oldshue is tossing in a team-high 15.9 points per game, good for fifth place among UAA performers.
She has converted a league-best 55.5 percent (86-155) of her field goal opportunities with that effort 23rd among all D-III players (through Jan. 22), and has sank 50 percent or better from the floor in nine contests. Emory's leading rebounder in eight outings, her 9.6 per-game average is good for the No. 3 spot on the UAA ladder. Included in her rebounding totals is a 3.5 per-game average on the offensive glass, good for third place among conference players. In conference tilts, Oldshue holds down the No. 2 position on the league chart in rebounding (11.4 rpg).
Career-wise, she has registered 37 double-figure scoring performances and had a 30-game streak of 10 or more points snapped in the Oglethorpe (Jan. 2) contest. She also holds down the school's No. 2 position in career field goal percentage (.535, 269-of-503).
JACKSON-SHERROD A CONSISTENT FORCE – Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod came through with a huge game in the win vs. Brandeis, leading all players with a career-high 22 points on 11-of-16 field goal shooting. It represented her 13th double-figure scoring effort of the campaign and the fifth time that she finished as the squad's top scorer.
Over her last 10 outings, she has scored in double digits nine times and is averaging 14.1 points and shooting 51.1 percent (68-133) from the floor.
One of two players on the team to have drawn starting nods in all 16 games, she is second on the club and 12th on the UAA scoring chart (12.9 ppg). Jackson-Sherrod has been one of the team's most efficient shooters, nailing 50.3 percent (99-197) of her field goal attempts, good for second place on the team and fourth in the conference. She has been successful on 50 percent or better from the floor in 12 contests.
TSE DIRECTING EMORY OFFENSIVE ATTACK – Sophomore Lindsey Tse played a key role in Emory's two wins last weekend, scoring 12 points (third double-figure effort of the season) and distributing eight assists vs. NYU before doling out nine assists in the Brandeis contest.
Tse, who has dished out seven or more assists in eight games, holds down the top spot in the UAA and ranks 10th in D-III (through Jan. 22) in assists average (6.2 apg). In addition, her 2.4 assist/turnover ratio is first in the league and 16th nationally.
Entering the upcoming weekend, Tse has 207 career assists to her credit, good for 11th place on the school's all-time list.
NUMBERS TO NOTE – Emory's two wins last weekend marked the first time it had won at both Brandeis and NYU since Feb. 1 & 3, 2013 … Brandeis shot an Emory-opponent low 25.5 percent from the field, the third time this season the Eagles saw the opposition finish at 30 percent or lower, all of which have come during the UAA portion of the schedule … Through five league games, Emory tops the UAA in scoring defense (56.8 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.327) … Ashley Oldshue heads into the weekend needing 10 rebounds to crack the program's all-time Top 20 … Oldshue currently has 388 boards so far as an Eagle … After outrebounding NYU by a 45-29 margin (fifth time it enjoyed a double-digit edge in that category), Brandeis posted a 39-36 advantage over Emory, snapping a four-game Eagles' streak where they had registered an edge in that category … Emory is No. 3 in the UAA in overall rebounding margin (+3.8) … In the five UAA games, Emory tops the conference in rebound margin (+10.6) … Sophomore Allison Chernow averaged 12.0 points off the bench in last weekend's two games, shooting 43.7 percent (7-16) from the floor, including 42.8 percent (6-14) from three-point range … In her last three outings, Chernow is averaging 11.0 points … The Eagles have five games with 10 or more steals this season … Sophomore Erin Lindahl has turned in 10 performances of double-digit scoring and ranks third on the club and 15th in the UAA in scoring average (11.3 ppg) … Emory is shooting 43.6 percent (267-612) from the floor in its 10 wins and 33.7 percent (137-406) in its six setbacks … The Eagles have outshot 10 opponents from the floor and hold an 8-2 record in those games … Emory reserves have outscored the opposition subs in 12 games … The Eagles have 10 or more O-boards in 14 contests this year … Freshman Blair Ripley is 18th in the UAA in rebound average (4.9 rpg) … Emory has won its last 22 games when scoring 80 or more points … Emory has won 46 of its last 63 and 62 of its last 82 home games … The first quarter has been kind to the Eagles as they own a 16.8-14.2 scoring advantage in that frame … The Eagles have outscored the opposition in 34 quarters while being outpointed in 27 (three quarters have been tied) … Both the Eagles and the opposition have scored 20 or more points in a quarter on 12 occasions.