The Emory University women's basketball team's winning streak was halted at four as they dropped their first conference game of the season to the Rochester Yellowjackets 75-66 on Saturday afternoon in the Woodruff PE Center.
The Eagles (8-2, 0-1 UAA) were on quite the hot streak before the No. 12 ranked Yellowjackets (11-1, 1-0 UAA) defeated them with a combination of efficient shots in the paint and capitalizing on turnovers.
For the Eagles, senior Mariane Auza scored a career high 20 points on an efficient 10-for-15 shooting night while still applying hrt usual defensive pressure registering two steals and two blocks. Senior Claire Brock filled up the stat sheet notching 12 points to go along with a team-high in both assists (8) and rebounds (9). The nation's leading assist-woman sophomore Daniella Aronsky put up a solid line contributing five assists to go along with nine points all of which came on three pointers. For the Yellowjackets, Katie Titus and Alexis Sestric combined for 46 points as Titus continues to lead the UAA in scoring this season.
Rochester had an extremely efficient shooting night, registering a field goal percentage of 48.4% which was in large part because of their 52 total points scored in the painted area. A cold shooting night from beyond the arc saw both teams combine for just seven three pointers made as only three different players were able to knock down a triple in the contest. The Eagles bench proved to be an advantage over the Yellowjackets as they poured in ten points compared to Rochester's two.
A back-and-forth first quarter saw Brock score or assist on ten of the Eagles first 12 points as the Eagles led 15-12 halfway through the first quarter. The game would tighten up from there as Emory went on a five minute scoreless drought that allowed the Yellowjackets to take a 19-15 lead at the end of the first period. The Eagles are a resilient bunch though as they managed to retake the lead on free throws from sophomore Erin Martin that capped an 8-0 run and put Emory up 27-25. The Eagles kept the score tight but a miniature 5-0 run in the closing minutes of the half gave the Yellowjackets a 37-31 lead as the two teams went back to the locker rooms.
The Eagles continued to fight in the third period bringing the game back to within four points but a 10-2 run that saw the Yellowjackets getting the majority of their attempts uncontested at the basket put Rochester back up by eight heading into the final quarter of the game. Emory did what they could to chip away at the lead as Aronsky hit some timely three pointers down the stretch but it proved to be too little too late as the Yellowjackets took home the first conference game of the season 75-66.
The Eagles are back on the court on Friday, January 13 with more conference action as they are set to take on the Carnegie Mellon Tartans at 5:30 PM at the Woodruff PE Center.