GAME FACTS – The Emory women's basketball team closes out the home portion of its schedule this weekend when it plays host to nationally ranked New York University on Friday (Feb. 12) and Brandeis University on Sunday.
The Woodruff PE Center will serve as the venue for the 555h meeting between the Eagles and the Violets with tip slated for 6:00 pm. Sunday's match-up against Brandeis will mark the 55th time the programs have squared off and that contest is slated for a 2:00 start. Prior to the Brandeis tussle, Emory will conduct Senior Day ceremonies with the career contributions of Sarah Arington, Khadijah Sayyid and Ilene Tsao being recognized.
LiveStats (http://emoryathletics.com/information/LiveStats) and a video stream (http://emoryathletics.com/information/webcasts) will be provided for both games. Handling the play-by-play will be Justin Hanover.
THE COACHES – Emory head coach Christy Thomaskutty (Tulane, '96) is in her 13th season in charge of the Eagles. She assumed her current duties prior to the start of the 2003-04 campaign and begins the weekend with a school and career mark of 170-153. Thomaskutty is assisted by Misha Jackson, Kim Coleman and Corneille Burt Algarra.
Lauren Hall-Gregory (Hofstra, '03) is in her fourth season as the head coach at NYU. During her stint with the Violets, she has compiled a record of 69-29 that includes two 20-win seasons and trips to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to her current post, Hall-Gregory spent four years as an assistant coach at Division I member Sacred Heart University.
Now in her 29th season in patrolling the sidelines for Brandeis is Carol Simon (Colby, '85). Heading into a Friday match-up against Rochester, Simon has compiled 409 wins including a mark of 190-117 over the past 12 years. She recorded her 400th career win on November 14, 2015, with a 70-54 verdict over Eastern Nazarene.
RECORDS – Emory brings an overall record of 11-9, 2-7 in UAA action, into its meeting against NYU. The Eagles split a pair of home games over the weekend, ending a three-game losing streak on Friday with a 71-64 decision over Chicago. On Sunday, the Eagles battled No. 9 Washington University down to the wire before coming up just short, 72-69. Five of Emory's UAA setbacks have been by seven or fewer points.
Senior Khadijah Sayyid sparked the win over UC, scoring a season-high tying 17 points and grabbing a team-high eight boards. Sayyid wound up the night sinking six-of-12 from the floor, including a pair of triples, en route to registering her sixth double-figure scoring performance of the year. Sophomore Dumebi Egbuna turned in a big contest against Wash U, leading all players with a career-high tying 19 points while tying for game honors with seven boards.
Emory is 7-3 at home and 4-6 in road/neutral settings this season.
NYU, ranked 14th nationally by D3hoops.com, comes to town with an overall record of 17-3, and its 6-3 slate in the UAA good for third place. The Violets are coming off a pair of road setbacks last weekend, 70-57 to Carnegie Mellon and 67-65 against Case Western Reserve.
NYU is 9-1 on its home floor, 8-2 in road games.
Brandeis meets Rochester on Friday with an overall ledger of 11-9, 4-5 in the conference. The Judges have won three of their last four games and swept road contests last weekend vs. Case Western Reserve (64-53) and Carnegie Mellon (72-66).
BU is 8-4 at home and 3-5 in road affairs.
SERIES RECORDS – NYU holds a 40-14 lead in the all-time series that saw the first game played in January of 1989. The Violets have captured the last five meetings between the schools including a 48-45 verdict earlier this year (Jan. 15). NYU has won 18 of the 27 match-ups that have been played in Atlanta.
Emory enjoys 28-26 edge in the series with Brandeis, which saw the first game played in January of 1989. The Judges drew first blood this year, capturing a 59-56 win at Auerbach Arena on Jan. 17. Emory posts a 16-11 record against BU in games that have been contested at the Woodruff PE Center.
EMORY DEFENSE RANKS HIGH IN UAA – Heading into the weekend, Emory ranks fourth among UAA squads in overall scoring defense, allowing 58.0 points per game. The Eagles have limited seven opponents to 50 or fewer points (compared to last year's entire total of four). Emory has been stingy as well in the field goal percentage defense category, allowing opponents just 36.9 percent from the floor, good for the No. 3 position on the league ladder.
SAYYID MOVING UP EMORY'S CAREER STEALS LADDER – After seeing a 44-game steals streak come to an end at Washington University (Jan. 31), Sayyid finished last weekend with six thefts, two against Chicago and four in the return meeting against Wash U.
Sayyid ranks fourth all-time at Emory with 216 steals and is just one shy of tying Mandy Jackson ('91-95) for the No. 3 position.
Sayyid is averaging 2.3 steals per game this year, good for fifth place on the UAA chart.
Entering the upcoming weekend, Sayyid owns 55 career contests of two or more steals, 12 of which have come this season.
EMORY TRIO TO SERVE AS CAPTAINS – Serving as captains of the 2015-16 Emory women's basketball team are seniors Khadijah Sayyid (Longmont, CO) and Ilene Tsao (Fremont, CA) and junior Shellie Kaniut (Vienna, VA).
SWEENEY TOUGH FROM BEYOND THE ARC – Junior Fran Sweeney knocked down a pair of triples in the victory over Chicago before hitting three in the Wash U game, with two of those coming in a 15-second span late in the fourth quarter that fueled an Emory comeback bid.
Sweeney enters the weekend with an eight-game streak with at least one triple to her credit and her season total of 41 leads the squad and ties for ninth place on the program's seasonal ladder. She holds down the No. 2 position among UAA players in three pointers per game (2.1) and is 12th in three-point percentage (.366, 41 of 112).
KANIUT CONSISTENT OFF THE BENCH – After running her double-figure scoring streak to five games with a 14-point evening (second high on the team) against Chicago, junior Shellie Kaniut finished with seven points against Wash U.
Kaniut has moved into the No. 1 spot on the team's score sheet, averaging 10.0 points per outing, good for 16th place on the UAA ladder. In addition, she ranks 15th among the league leaders in three-point shooting, converting 35.9 percent (23 of 64) from long range.
Kaniut was a force defensively, coming up with eight steals over the two games, five against Chicago and three vs. Wash U. Kaniut owns and eight-game streak of multiple thefts (15 on the year) and her 51 steals is 17th on the Eagles' yearly ladder. Her 2.6 steals-per-game average is good for third place in the UAA.
NOTES – Dumebi Egbuna's career-high 19 points in the Wash U game marked her sixth double-figure game of the season and 15th of her career … Egbuna also led the squad in rebounding for the seventh time this season with her seven boards upping her season average to 5.1 per game, 18th on the UAA chart … Ilene Tsao dished out a game-high seven assists in the Wash U outing, her ninth effort of five or more assists this season … Tsao paces Emory and is second in the UAA in overall assists average (4.7 apg) while her 5.3 per-game mark in UAA action ties for the No. 1 spot … Heading into the weekend, Tsao has 231 career assists, good for seventh place all-time at Emory … Tsao has scored in double figures in five of her last seven and in a total of six games this season … Shellie Kaniut will enter the NYU game with 26 career outings of double-figure scoring … Michelle Bevan became eligible to be ranked in the UAA overall statistics over last weekend, and her 9.7 per-game scoring average is ranks 19th … Bevan is tossing in 10.0 points per UAA game, with that effort ranking 21st in the league … Bevan has scored in double digits on six occasions this year (16 in her career) … Sophomore Lauren Weems gave the Eagles some offensive punch coming off the bench in the Wash U game, registering a career-high 13 points in 15 minutes of action … Weems has produced a pair of double-digit scoring efforts this year and has three in her career … Khadijah Sayyid is the team's leading three-point shooter, with her 39.1 percent mark (34 of 87) from beyond the arc good for sixth place on the UAA chart … Career-wise, Sayyid has 90 three pointers, good for eighth place all-time at Emory … Heading into the weekend, Sweeney has 87 career three pointers to her credit, good for ninth place on the program's all-time list … Emory leads the UAA and is 31st nationally in steals per game (12.3 spg) … The Eagles have totaled 10 or more thefts on 15 occasions this year and their 245 thefts ties the 13th-highest seasonal mark in program history … Emory has led at halftime on 13 occasions this year and posts a 9-4 won-lost ledger in those contests … The Eagles are averaging 15.1 assists per game, good for the No. 5 spot in the UAA while ranking 69th among all D-III programs through Feb. 8… Emory has enjoyed an advantage in the points-off-turnover category in eight of the last 12 games (one game tied), generating 245 points (20. 4 ppg) in that stretch compared to the opposition's 180 points (15.0 ppg) … Emory has outscored the opposition in 46 quarters while being outpointed in 33 … Emory has won 30 of its last 41 and 46 of its last 60 home games … The Eagles have won their last 18 and are 42-4 during Thomaskutty's tenure as head coach when scoring 80 or more points (2-0 in '15-16; 1-0 in '14-15; 5-0 in 2013-14; and 7-0 in 2012-13) … Emory is averaging 31.3 points during the first half of action vs. 26.4 for the opposition … Over the final two quarters, the Eagles are averaging 33.5 points to their opposition's 31.7 … The fourth stanza has been Emory's most productive quarter in terms of scoring average (17.9 pts.) while the second quarter has been seen the Eagles post their biggest scoring differential against opponents, 316 (15.8 pts) vs. 259 (12.9 pts.).