Seniors Ashley Oldshue and Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod combined for 29 points in leading the Emory women's basketball team to a Sunday afternoon win at home over New York University. The Eagles captured their third straight game and upped their overall record to 13-5, 4-3 in the University Athletic Association, following a 70-49 verdict over the Violets who fell to 10-7 overall, 2-5 in the league.
Oldshue totaled a team-high 15 points, 13 coming in the second half, ending the contest six-of-nine from the floor and three-of-four from the charity stripe in registering her 14th straight and 17 double-figure scoring performance of the season. Oldshue topped all players with 10 rebounds, marking her fifth double-double of the campaign and 16th of her career. In the fourth quarter, Oldshue blocked a pair of shots and in the process became the program's all-time leader in that category with 105 rejections, one better than Alicia Moore's (1994-98) previous No. 1 standard of 104.
Jackson-Sherrod dialed up a season-high tying 14 points (high for league game), knocking down seven-of-12 field goal tries. It marked her eighth double-digit performance of the season. Jackson-Sherrod also contributed to the Eagles' strong play on the glass, pulling down a season-high nine rebounds. Juniors Lindsey Tse and Allison Chernow rounded out the team's double-figure scorers with 13 and 10 points, respectively, with Tse dishing out four assists and Chernow finishing with seven boards.
Emory got off to a slow start, connecting on just 27.8 percent (5-of-18) during the opening 10 minutes of play, and trailing by a 14-10 margin. The Eagles picked up the pace at both ends of the floor in the second quarter, limiting the Violets to just three field goals in 13 tires, while outpointing the visitors by a 19-8 count to take a seven-point edge into the break. After seeing two players get into the scoring column in the first quarter, Emory had eight players pick up points during the second stanza.
Holding a four-point lead early in the third quarter, the Eagles held the Violets scoreless for a 3:20 stretch while scoring nine straight points, four by Oldshue, to bolt to a 40-27 lead with 5:11 left. Emory still led by a 13-point count following a bucket by sophomore Molly Weiss with 2:49 on the clock, but NYU sliced its deficit to six points heading into the final 10 minutes as a result of a 7-0 spurt.
The fourth quarter was all Emory as Tse (8 pts.), Oldshue (7 pts.) and Chernow (6 pts.) accounted for 21 of the team's 24 points. The Eagles rang up the first seven points of the stanza, started with a Chernow trey followed by baskets by Tse and Oldshue, to move to a 53-40 cushion. After a NYU triple, Emory held the Violets scoreless for nearly five minutes while scoring 11 straight points in the stretch, six by Oldshue, to take a commanding 65-43 lead with 2:50 on the clock.
For the game, Emory was successful on 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the floor compared to NYU's mark of 33.9 percent (20-of-59). The Eagles held a decisive 47-27 bulge in rebounding, the ninth time this year it enjoyed a double-digit advantage in that department while representing the 11th win in as many decisions when holding the upper hand on the glass.
Emory returns to action next Friday (Feb. 1) when it plays at Brandeis in a 6:00 pm tip.