Senior Ashley Oldshue and junior Allison Chernow combined for 37 points but it wasn't enough as the Emory women's basketball dropped a hard-fought Friday night road contest to Washington University. The Eagles saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end and overall record dip to 10-3 (1-1 UAA) following a 77-69 setback to the Bears who improved to 8-5 overall and 2-0 in the league.
Oldshue led all players with 19 points, hitting seven-of-17 from floor and four-of-five from the charity stripe, in notching her 12th double-figure scoring effort of the season. Chernow totaled all 18 of her points over the final two quarters, closing out the evening five-of-11 from the field, including three treys in seven tries, while sinking five of her six attempts from foul line. Junior Erin Lindahl rounded out the Eagles' double-figure scorers with 13 points and tied Oldshue for game honors with nine boards.
Emory faced a pair of nine-point obstacles in the final quarter, including a 67-58 deficit with 5:40 left on the clock, before roaring back with a 7-0 spurt that saw Chernow and Lindahl knock down treys to draw to within two points with 4:00 remaining. After a three-pointer by Caroline Ballard pushed the Bears to a five-point advantage, the Eagles stayed within striking distance following a pair of free throws by Oldshue with 3:31 left. WU came up empty on its next possession but Emory couldn't convert on its next possession, which led to a basket by the Bears' Madeline Homoly with 2:10 on the clock. After an Emory turnover, another bucket by Homoly, her 16th and 17th points of the game, pushed Wash U to a 74-67 cushion with 1:15 left. Chernow answered with two makes from the line, but the Bears sealed the outcome following a three-pointer by Rachel Sondag, her third in the quarter and the game, with 34 ticks left.
Wash U enjoyed an edge in field goal shooting, sinking 46.6 percent (27-of-58) of its attempts vs. Emory's 40 percent (24-of-60). Both teams converted six three-pointers in 14 opportunities for a 42.9 percent effort, and displayed a good touch at the free throw line with the Bears finishing at 81 percent (17-of-21) and Emory with an effort of 78.9 percent (15-of-19).
Holding a 21-19 lead after the opening 10 minutes, the Bears started the second stanza on a 7-0 spurt, capped by a three-pointer by Hayley Semple, to extend their advantage to nine points. Emory responded with eight unanswered points, the first four coming by Oldshue to creep to within one point with 5:38 left in the stanza. A pair of buckets by Kristina Schmelter keyed a 6-0 Bear run that gave the hosts a 34-27 margin. After a basket by junior Erin Lindahl cut Emory's deficit to five points, WU scored five of the quarter's last six points to take a 39-30 cushion into the break. Oldshue and Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod led the Emory scoring attack with 11 and seven points, respectively, while Homoly topped Wash U with 10 points. The Bears were successful on 48.3 percent (14-of-29) of their field goal attempts compared to Emory's 38.7 percent (12-of-31).
Emory returns to action Sunday afternoon when it plays at No. 17-ranked Chicago.