GAME FACTS – The Emory women's basketball team faces its second straight road weekend when it plays at nationally ranked Washington University on Friday before tangling with the University of Chicago on Sunday. The WU Field House will be the site of the 49th meeting between the Bears and the Eagles with that game slated for a 6:00 pm (CST) tip. On Sunday, the scene will shift to the Ratner Center on the Chicago campus where the Eagles and Maroons will clash for the 49th occasion with that affair starting at 2:00 pm (CST).
Live Stats and a video stream provided for both games. To access video for the Wash U contest, go to: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wustl.portal# . The Live Stats can be accessed by: http://bearsports-livestats.wustl.edu/Basketball/xlive.htm.
Live Stats for the Chicago outing can be viewed by going to the following link: http://athletics.uchicago.edu/livestats/xlive.htm while the video can be accessed by the following: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/maroon-tv.
THE COACHES – Emory Head Coach Christy Thomaskutty (Tulane, '96) is in her 10th season in charge of the Eagles. She assumed her current duties prior to the start of the 2003-04 campaign and enters the weekend with a school and career mark of 125-120. She is assisted by Katherine Menendez, Kim Coleman, Jessica Davis, Chelsea MacDonald and Brittany Graham.
Nancy Fahey (Wisconsin, '81) is in her 27th year at the helm of the Wash U program and heads into Friday's contest with a school and career won-lost ledger of 634-115. She has directed the Bears to five national titles, most recently in 2010. In addition, she has seen her teams claim 19 UAA titles.
In her first year as Acting Head Coach at Chicago is Carissa Sain Knoche. Prior to her current post, Sain Knoche spent four years as an assistant with the Maroons' program.
2012-13 RECORDS – Emory, ranked No. 15 in this week's USA Today Sports Poll and 20th by D3hoops.com, stands 18-2 in overall play, including an 8-1 slate in the UAA, good for sole possession of first place. The Eagles, winners of their last seven contests, recorded victories at Brandeis (66-52) and NYU (60-48) over the weekend, upping their road record to 7-1 on the year.
The Eagles' 18-2 record represents the best 20-game showing in school history, bettering the 16-4 ledger posted by the 1994-95 team, while the team's 18 triumphs ties the third-highest win total in school annals.
Wash U hosts Emory with an overall record of 17-3, 7-2 in the league. The Bears have won five of their last six outings and are coming off victories against Carnegie Mellon (85-54) and Case Western (58-35) last weekend.
Chicago heads into a Friday home battle vs. Rochester with a record of 7-13, 3-6 in league affairs. The Maroons split a pair of home decisions last weekend, losing to Case Western in overtime by a 76-71 count before claiming a 76-60 verdict over Carnegie Mellon.
SERIES RECORDS – In a series that began in February of 1989, Wash U has captured 42 of the 48 decisions played between the schools. The Bears won the initial meeting of this season, escaping the Woodruff PE Center with a 56-53 overtime decision. Junior Selena Castillo led the Eagles' scoring attack in that contest with 15 points while senior Misha Jackson led all players with 16 rebounds.
In a series that has its roots in February of 1989, Chicago posts a 32-16 slate vs. Emory. Earlier this year (Jan. 13), the Eagles notched an 80-64 victory that ended a 10-game UC winning streak in the series. The Maroons are 16-7 against Emory in games contested on their home floor.
EMORY DUO TO SERVE AS CAPTAINS – Serving as captains of the 2012-13 Emory
women's basketball team are seniors Misha Jackson (Atlanta, GA) and Danielle Landry (Vienna, VA). The pair also served as captains, along with the graduated Melissa Koike, during the 2011-12 season.
EMORY'S DEFENSE MAKE AN IMPACT – Heading into the weekend, the Eagles hold down the No. 1 spot in the UAA in scoring defense in overall (52.3 ppg) contests and rank second in league encounters (53.9 ppg). Emory has held opponents to fewer than 50 points on eight occasions including a Jan. 25 game when the 28 points scored by Brandies tied the seventh-lowest opponent total against an Emory squad.
The high-energy Emory defense forced a total of 54 turnovers in the Brandeis and NYU games and came up with 33 steals last weekend. The Eagles forced the Judges into 24 miscues and scored 29 points off those mistakes while pressuring NYU into 30 turnovers which they parlayed into 22 points.
Emory has forced the opposition into 20 or more turnovers in the last 11 and in a total of 18 games this season. The Eagles are averaging 24.9 points off opponent mistakes while foes are scoring 10.9 points off Emory turnovers. Emory continues to lead the UAA, while ranking 11th among D-III programs, in steals (14.7 spg) and holds down the No. 1 position in the conference (6th nationally) in turnover margin (+10.25). During their current seven-game winning streak, the Eagles are averaging 15.1 turnovers per outing vs. 25.6 for their foes.
Emory has been especially stingy on the defensive end of the floor in its 12 home outings, allowing the opposition just 47.2 points while limiting foes to just .328 percent from the floor.
CASTILLO'S CAPERS -- Junior Selena Castillo was a major thorn in the side of NYU last Sunday, coming up with a career-high seven steals that tied the fourth-highest individual game total in school history. Castillo's seven thefts ties the second-highest mark by a league player this season to date and represented her sixth straight and 17th outing on the year with multiple steals.
A starter in all 20 contests this year, her 3.2 steals per game tops the UAA and ranks 11th among all D-III players. In addition, she holds down the No. 3 position on the league chart with a .377 three-point field goal percentage effort (26-of-69).
Heading into the weekend, Castillo's 63 steals places her in a tie with Mandy Jackson (1992-93) for fourth place on the Eagles' seasonal list while her career total of 129 is good for a seventh-place tie on the school's all-time list.
LANDRY MOVES UP EMORY'S CAREER REBOUND LIST – Danielle Landry moved closer to Emory's career top-10 list in rebounding over the weekend with her 11 boards upping her total to 570, good for 11th place on that chart. Landry registered seven caroms, tying for second on the squad, against NYU and in the process moved her just six rebounds shy of moving past Mandy Jackson and into 10th position. During her career, Landry owns 13 contests of 10 or more boards.
Heading into the weekend, the 6-foot Landry is second on the team behind Misha Jackson and 11th in the league in rebounding (6.2 rpg) in overall play while her 6.6 per-game showing in conference tilts stands 10th. Over the last five games, Danielle is averaging 7.8 rebounds.
DON'T MESS WITH MISHA – Senior Misha Jackson played a key role in the triumphs at Brandeis and NYU last weekend, scoring in double figures in both contests while pacing the team in rebounding in both affairs. After notching 11 points and seven boards vs. Brandeis, Jackson recorded her UAA-leading seventh double-double of the year (16th of her career) with a 12-point, game-high 10 rebound performance against NYU. Misha's effort on the glass represented her ninth performance of 10 or more boards this season and 20th of her career. Heading into this Friday's bout at Wash U, she has either led or tied for team honors in rebounding on 13 occasions this year.
Jackson, who has grabbed seven or more boards in her last eight contests, holds down the top spot in the league in rebounding (9.3 rpg) in overall affairs and tops the league in conference contests (9.1 rpg). In addition, her 11.2 per-game mark in scoring is third on the team and 8th in the UAA, while her 1.7 per-game performance in blocked shots is third on the conference ladder. Over the last five outings, she is pulling down a team-high 8.0 rebounds.
Career-wise, Jackson is right behind Landry in the 11th spot on the school's all-time chart with 553 rebounds. Her 816 total points is the 16th -highest mark in school annals while her 85 blocked shots is third on the school's career list.
LILLY SETS SCHOOL STREAK FOR TRIPLES – Junior guard Hannah Lilly started out the weekend by sinking a pair of three-point field goals against Brandeis and followed that performance by knocking down three shots from beyond the arc en route to a team-high 14 points against NYU. Her three treys against the Violets enabled her to establish a school record of 25 consecutive games with at least one three-point field goal. Lilly entered the NYU game deadlocked with Beth Bergmann for the top spot at 24 contests. A peek at the Emory record book shows that Lilly also shares the third-longest streak with Mandy Jackson at 23 contests.
Heading into Friday's game, Lilly is second on the team and fifth among UAA performers in three-point field goal percentage (.351) and her effort of 2.4 treys per game is second on the league chart. The team's leading scorer in nine games this year, she has hit two or more treys in her last six and in a total of 14 contests in '12-13.
Lilly, who has notched double-figure scoring in 16 of her 19 appearances this year, checks into the Wash U contest with a team-leading 14.1 per-game scoring average that is good for the No. 3 position on the league list. She is also ninth in the conference in assists (2.3 apg).
Career-wise, Lilly's 989 points are eighth all-time at Emory and she is just 11 points from reaching the 1,000-career point plateau. The owner of the No. 7 slot on the school's career list with 371 field goals, she is firmly entrenched in the No. 2 position with 161 three-point field goals.
So far during her two-plus year career at Emory, she has recorded 52 games of double-digit point production and claims 13 contests of 20 or more points.
EMORY REBOUNDING NOTES – The Eagles have recorded 20 or more offensive caroms in seven games this season. Coach Thomaskutty has seen her squad grab 18.3 offensive rebounds per outing, second in the UAA, that has helped lead to an average of 13.6 second-chance points per game. Conversely, the opposition has finished with 10 or more offensive rebounds on 10 occasions and shows a 7.8 per-game effort in second-chance points.
MORGAN DIRECTS THE ATTACK – Savannah Morgan led the team in scoring for the sixth time this year when she totaled 15 points, 13 in the second half, against Brandeis and followed that by dishing out a game-high seven assists while grabbing six rebounds vs. NYU. Morgan's effort against BU represented her 12th double-figure scoring effort of the year while her assists mark against the Violets marked her 10th effort of six or more assists this season.
Heading into the weekend, Morgan is scoring at a 12.0 per-game clip, second on the squad and seventh in the UAA. She is doling out a league-best 5.6 assists per game, good for 10th place nationally, and also ranks prominently among conference performers in three-point field goal percentage (7th, .333) and assist/turnover ratio (1st, 1.8)
She stands 19th in career scoring at Emory with 684 points and is 18th all-time at Emory with 258 field goals. Her 358 career assists are No. 3 all-time at the school and she is tied for the No. 7 position with current teammates Misha Jackson and Selena Castillo in career steals with 129.
NOTES – Emory's current seven-game UAA winning streak is the school's longest single-season showing in school history and ties the seven-game streak when the '96-97 squad won its last four conference encounters followed by the '97-98 unit capturing its first three league affairs … Emory has enjoyed an edge in the points-off-turnover category on 18 occasions with the opposition finishing with the advantage in one contest (one game tied) … Savannah Morgan will enter the Wash U contest with three-point field goals to her credit in her last five games … The Eagles are averaging a league-leading 6.7 three-point field goals per game and have converted seven or more triples in 11 contests this season … Emory's 298 steals ranks as the second-highest total in school history, second only to the 2010-11 squad's top mark of 305 … The Eagles have recorded 134 three-point field goals this year, good for fifth place on the school's seasonal chart … Emory is shooting .323 from three-point range in both home (83-of-257) and away (51-of-158) contests … Emory's +19.5 scoring margin paces the UAA and is good for 12th place among D-III programs … Emory is averaging 35.5 points during the first half of action and 35.4 points during the second half … Opponents are averaging 24.8 points in the first half and 26.8 in the second stanza … The Eagles are 32-4 during Thomaskutty's tenure as head coach when scoring 80 or more points (5-0 in 2012-13) ... Emory has outshot 13 foes from three-point range and the squad's 32.3% mark showing from beyond the arc is good for third place in the UAA … Khadijah Sayyid is third in the UAA in steals with a 2.4 per-game effort … Sayyid has 14 performances of two or more steals to her credit … Sayyid's 48 thefts place her 15th on the school's seasonal chart … Sophomore O'Dez Oraedu has recorded rebounds in all 20 games off the bench and has five or more boards on eight occasions while averaging 14.7 minutes per outing … Hannah Lilly tied her career high with seven rebounds in the NYU game.