The Emory women's basketball team has been hard at work as it prepares for an overseas excursion to Italy, August 13- 21, that will see it play three games against Italian club teams as well as holding training sessions.
The Eagles' first game is slated to take place on Aug. 17 and will be followed by a pair of contests on Aug. 20. Among the historical and world-renowned cities head coach Christy Thomaskutty and her team will visit will be Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan.
"We are all excited about the opportunity to spend time out of the season together enhancing our basketball skills through additional practice time and game opportunities," Thomaskutty said. "But more importantly, we are eager about the opportunity to build on and enhance our team chemistry and relationships while getting to enjoy Italy."
Among the many sights the travelling party will see include the Roman Colosseum, St. Peter's Square, the papal Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, the village of San Gimignano, San Lorenzo Square in Florence, San Marco Island, a visit through the canals of Venice and the Domo, Castle Sforenzi and the Galleria in Milan.
Emory finished the 2011-12 campaign with an overall record of 18-7, with the win total the third-highest mark in school history. In University Athletic Association action, the Eagles battled their way to a 9-5 performance, tying the third-highest win effort in school annals, while its third-place finish in the loop was the school's best showing since 1998-99.
The 2012-13 Eagles' squad will welcome back a host a veterans including the talented junior backcourt tandem of Hannah Lilly and Savannah Morgan. The 5-foot-8 Lilly brought home Honorable Mention All-America honors after leading the team and UAA in scoring in both overall (17.2 ppg) and conference (17.1 pgg) play. A First Team All-UAA honoree, she totaled double-figure scoring on 22 occasions and her 74 three-point field goals were the second-highest seasonal mark in program annals. Morgan directed the Emory offense with a steady hand from her point-guard position with her school-record 5.7 assists per game pacing all league players while ranking 10th nationally among D-III players. Other starters back in the fold for the upcoming year will be senior frontliners Misha Jackson (13.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Danielle Landry (8.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg).
"We hope that this tour will give our returners a boost as we prepare for next season," Thomaskutty stated. "The ability to work with players individually when they have not been pulled in various directions through academic and extracurricular demands has allowed our staff to work them on their individual skill development. This is an area that I hope we will see a benefit from come the fall."
The team began practice at the Woodruff PE Center on August 5 and will continue its preparation through its departure date of Monday, August 13. The Eagles' contingent will depart Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport at 4:32 p.m., on the 13th, flying to New York where it will catch a connection to Paris before landing in Rome on Tuesday, Aug. 14, at 4:05 p.m. Emory will return to Atlanta the afternoon of Aug. 21.
The team has established a Twitter account for fans of the program to keep track of the Eagles while they are in Italy.
https://twitter.com/@EmoryWCBB