Junior Michelle Bevan and senior Ilene Tsao combined for 32 points but it wasn't enough as the Emory women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought decision to Rochester in the University Athletic Association opener for both squads.  The No. 12 Yellowjackets raised their overall record to 11-1 following a 75-68 outcome over the Eagles who slipped to 9-3 overall.

Bevan closed out the afternoon with a game-high 18 points, hitting seven-of-14 field goal attempts and all four of her free throw opportunities in chalking up her second straight and third double-figure scoring effort in seven contests.  Tsao totaled a season-high 14 points, converting five-of-10 from the floor and three-of-three from the stripe.  Tsao and Bevan shared for team honors with eight rebounds, with Tsao also finishing with a season-high tying eight assists.

The trio of Alexandra Leslie, Sarah Kaminsky and Kayla Kibling all finished with 17 points to lead the Rochester scoring effort.

Rochester was successful on 40 percent (26 of 65) from the floor while Emory finished at 36.8 percent.  Three-point shooting proved to be a key factor in the outcome with the Yellowjackets draining 47.8 percent, hitting an opponent season-high tying 11 from distance in 23 attempts, while the Eagles connected on just two of 15. 

After battling to a 13-13 draw after the opening 10 minutes of action, a 6-0 Rochester run beginning at the midway point of the second quarter gave it a 28-21 lead with 2:48 left.  The Eagles responded with an 8-0 spurt, which began with back-to-back buckets by Bevan, to take a one-point lead.  A three pointer by UR's Kaminksy with 1:16 left gave UR a 31-29 lead heading into the break.  Included in Kaminsky's final point total were four three pointers.

Holding a 43-39 advantage with 5:40 left in the third quarter, the Yellowjackets scored nine unanswered points, highlighted by a Kibling trey, to stretch their lead to 52-39.  A three-point play by Tsao began a 9-2 Emory charge that was capped off by back-to-back baskets by sophomore Mikaila Schmitt, slicing the deficit to six points before a pair of UR free throws extended its lead to eight points heading into the final quarter.

UR led by a 10-point count, 67-57 with 6:05 left in the final frame before the Emory defense clamped down on the Yellowjackets, holding them scoreless for over four minutes while going on a 9-0 blitz, the final three coming on a triple by senior Khadijah Sayyid, her 16^th straight game with a trey, tying the sixth-longest mark in school history.  Kibling's fifth and final three pointer of the game extended UR's lead to four points, 70-66, with 1:40 left on the clock.  Emory then missed its next six field goal attempts while the Yellowjackets made five-of-six foul shots down the stretch to hold off the Eagles.

Emory returns to action next Friday (Jan. 15) when it plays at No. 4-ranked New York University in a 6:00 pm start.