Senior Ashley Oldshue paced three double-figure scorers with a game-high 24 points in leading the Emory women's basketball team to a Senior Day victory over the University of Rochester. The Eagles won for the ninth time in the past 10 outings, raising their record to 19-6 overall, 10-4 in the University Athletic Association, following a 78-54 triumph over the Yellowjackets who closed out their season at 10-15, 4-10 in the league. Emory finished the year tied with Chicago for second place in the conference with its win total the fourth highest in program history.
Playing her final regular-season game at the Woodruff PE Center, Oldshue closed out the afternoon 12-of-15 from the floor en route to posting her 23rd double-figure scoring performance of the year and seventh of 20 or more points. Junior Erin Lindahl continued her torrid offensive pace, dialing up 17 points on the strength of seven-of-nine field goal shooting, which included a pair of three-point field goals, raising her streak to 20 games with at least one triple, fifth longest in school history. Junior Allison Chernow rounded out the double-digit scorers with 14 points, hitting five field goals in nine opportunities along with a pair at the stripe.
The Eagles picked an opportune time to come through with their best shooting performance of the season, draining 59.3 percent (35-of-59) from the floor, their fifth effort of 50 percent or better this season and the fourth highest single-game mark in school annals. Emory held the visiting Yelljowackets to 36.2 percent from the field and finished with a decided 38-25 bulge on the glass, with Oldshue pacing the club in that category with a game-high nine boards.
Emory led from start to finish in boosting its home record to 9-2 on the season, scoring the first nine points of the game and eventually building a 15-2 cushion midway through the first frame. With Lindahl scoring seven points and the Eagles connecting on 60 percent (9-of-15) of their field goal tries, Emory enjoyed a 19-7 edge after the opening 10 minutes of play. A bucket by Oldshue to start the second stanza pushed Emory to a 14-point lead, but Rochester battled back and trailed by seven points after a jumper by Julianna Okoniewski with 1:04 left in the half. Baskets by sophomore Blair Ripley and Oldshue extended the Eagles' margin to 11 points before another score by Okoniewski drew UR to within nine heading into the break.
As has been the case most of the year, Emory turned up the heat over the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Yellowjackets by a 43-28 count, started by a 27-15 edge in the third quarter. The Eagles connected on a blistering 65.5 percent (19-of-29) from the floor, including four treys in five attempts, in the final two frames with Oldshue, Lindahl and Chernow all producing 10 points. After UR scored the opening two points of the third quarter that narrowed Emory's margin to 35-28, the Eagles rattled off a decisive 12-0 blitz, keyed by five points from Chernow, four points from Oldshue and a trey by Lindahl, to zoom to a 47-28 advantage. A triple by sophomore Molly Weiss with 3:45 left in the quarter gave Emory its first 20-point lead of the day, as the Eagles would close third stanza with a 62-41 moat.
Emory will now wait as to what the postseason may hold for it when the selections are made to the NCAA Tournament on Monday, Feb. 25, at 2:30 pm. The Selection Show can be seen on ncaa.com.
Courtney Henrich with family members on Senior Day
Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod with family members on Senior Day
Ashley Oldshue with family members on Senior Day