The Emory women's basketball team got back into the win column on Sunday afternoon, coming away with a hard-fought home decision over Carnegie Mellon University. The Eagles snapped a three-game losing streak and upped their record to 11-5, 2-3 in the University Athletic Association, following a 56-51 triumph over the Tartans who fell to 10-6 overall, 1-4 in the league.
Junior Allison Chernow paced the Emory scoring attack with 16 points, her fifth straight and ninth double-figure effort of the year. Chernow nailed four three-point field goals on the day, her second-highest output of the year, and added eight rebounds, four assists and three steals to the cause. Senior Ashley Oldshue was the other Eagle to finish in double figures with 10 points, while finishing with six boards and three blocked shots. Oldshue has recorded 103 career blocked shots, good for the No. 2 spot on the school's all-time ladder, and is one shy of tying Alicia Moore's (1994-98) No. 1 standard of 104.
After Carnegie Mellon opened the third quarter with a bucket that tied the game at 26-26, the Eagles proceeded to outpoint the Tartans by a 20-9 margin the remainder of the frame to take a 46-35 edge into the final 10 minutes of action. Emory shot 53.3 percent (8-of-15) in the quarter and saw Chernow score six points while sophomore Molly Weiss chipped in five of her eight points. Holding a three-point lead, Emory held the Tartans scoreless for a 4:35 stretch while scoring 10 unanswered points to claim a 42-29 edge with 3:01 left. Chernow rang up five points during the run while Weiss chipped in a triple.
Emory opened the fourth quarter on a strong note as junior Erin Lindahl and Weiss knocked down treys to extend the Eagles' cushion to 52-35. However, Emory then hit a cold patch, going scoreless for a 6:10 stretch while the Tartans scored eight points to slice their deficit to nine points. After a pair of charity tosses by Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod put Emory ahead by 11, CMU mounted another 8-0 charge, capped by a three pointer by Katie Higgins to creep to within three points, 54-51, with 49 ticks on the clock. Jackson-Sherrod then hit a bucket with 19 seconds on the clock that would prove to be the final scoring of the afternoon.
Emory outshot CMU from the floor, 39.6 percent (21-of-53) to 31.7 percent (20-of-63). The Eagles were successful on 34.8 percent (8-of-23) of their three-point opportunities compared to the Tartans' 14.3 percent (2-of-14). Led by Lindahl's season-high 10 boards, Emory enjoyed a 42-30 edge in rebounding, the eighth time this season the Eagles had outboarded the opposition by a double-digit margin.
Emory returns to action on Friday (Jan. 25) when it hosts Brandeis University in a 6:00 pm start.