Junior Ashley Oldshue exploded for 18 of her game-high 22 points during the second half in helping rally the Emory women's basketball team to a Friday evening at Carnegie Mellon. The Eagles snapped a four-game losing streak and raised their overall record to 11-10, 5-5 in the UAA, following a 66-64 decision over the Tartans who fell to 9-12 overall, 1-9 in the conference.
Oldshue ended the evening sinking eight-of-12 from the floor and six-of-eight from the charity stripe in notching her 15th double-figure scoring effort of the year and fifth of 20 or more points. Sophomore Erin Lindahl chalked up 16 points while junior Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod rounded out the team's double-digit scorers with 11 points.
Emory trailed by as many as 12 points, 46-34, early in the third quarter and still faced a nine-point gap with 4:51 remaining in the stanza. The Eagles battled back and closed out the final 4:43 of the frame on a 10-4 run, with Oldshue scoring five of her 11 points in that stretch, which also saw sophomore Allison Chernow nail a clutch three-pointer at the buzzer. Early in the fourth quarter, a bucket by sophomore Blair Ripley followed by a free throw by Oldshue drew the Eagles even with the Tartans at 52-52 with 8:42 on the clock. After a CMU basket, Emory scored six straight points, started by a Lindahl jumper and followed by a pair of baskets by Oldshue to claim a four-point lead. CMU would knot the score at 60-60 with 2:45 remaining, and after swapping baskets, a jumper by Ripley with 1:46 on the clock gave Emory the lead for good at 64-62. On its ensuing possession, the Tartans missed three straight shots, with Oldshue blocking the last attempt of the bunch. Erin Lindahl eventually put the game out of reach at 66-62 with eight ticks left when she followed her miss from the floor with a rebound and put-back. The Tartans then scored with less than a second remaining to finish out the night.
Emory ended the game shooting 40.3 percent (25-62) from the field, including 51.7 percent (15-29) over the final two quarters. CMU ended up with a 39.1 percent (18-46) mark from the floor and drained 26-of-33 free throw attempts compared to the Eagles' 13-of-20 from the stripe. Emory posted a 39-32 advantage on the glass with Oldshue tying for game honors with nine boards and Ripley finishing with eight.
Emory faced a 39-30 deficit heading into halftime, concluding the opening 20 minutes shooting 30.3 10-of-33 from the floor while the Tartans checked in at 42.1 percent (8-of-19). Lindahl led the Eagles with nine points while junior Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod added seven points. Katharine Higgins topped the CMU effort with 13 points. Emory found itself on the wrong end of a 22-11 score after the first quarter before outscoring the Tartans by a 19-17 count in the second stanza. Both teams grabbed 18 boards in the first half but the Tartans used a huge advantage at the stripe, converting 22-of-25 vs. Emory's eight-of-nine mark, in taking the nine-point lead at the break.
Emory returns to action on Sunday (Feb. 11) when it plays at Case Western Reserve.