The Emory University women's basketball team won its first game of the season Saturday night, defeating No. 25 ranked Millsaps, 50-40, at the Richard Dardene Memorial Classic at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, AL.
Senior Anna Arato led the way for the Eagles scoring a team-high 14 points to go along with five rebounds, two steals, and a block. Emory had four players who swiped two or more steals and that included senior Tori Huggins who had two steals of her own to go along with 10 points. Off the bench, junior Claire Brock scored 11 points including two three-pointers. Junior Mariane Auza led the team in assists with three and steals contributing four.
For the Majors, Whitney Novak netted a team-high nine points and teammate Andrea Rayford scored eight of her own. Rayford snatched a team-high seven rebounds while teammate Meagan Bickmann poured in a team-leading three assists.
Millsaps shot better from the floor (41.2% - 33.3%) and from behind the arc (23.1% - 20%) than the Eagles however, the defensive pressure by Emory is what ultimately swung the game as they forced 30 Majors turnovers to just 19 of their own. The Eagles hustle play also resulted in more second chance opportunities with the Eagles holding a 13-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
Despite leading by five late in the first quarter, the Majors couldn't withstand a 20-3 run by the Eagles (18-3 in the second quarter) that saw Millsaps trailing 23-11 at halftime. Emory wouldn't let its foot off the gas as they came out of the half on a 9-2 run to give them a 32-13 lead and ultimately put the game out of reach for the Majors.
The Eagles next take the court on the weekend of November 19-21 as they host the Emory Tip-Off Classic and face-off against No. 2 ranked East Texas Baptist and Ferrum.