The No. 21/25 ranked Emory University women's basketball takes on No. 15/23 Chicago and Washington University in the first of back-to-back weekends against the two schools. The Eagles will be on the road this weekend (Jan. 31 and Feb. 2) before hosting the Maroons and Bears on February 7th and 9th.
Coverage
-Chicago: Live Stats | Video
-WashU: Live Stats | Video
Emory Eagles (14-2, 5-0 UAA)
The Eagles, led by their 20th ranked scoring defense in the country (52.5 OPPG), are off to their best-ever start in the University Athletic Association and thanks to their current nine-game winning streak moved to 21st in this week's WBCA national rankings as well as maintaining their No. 25 positioning in the D3Hoops.com national poll.
Emory is averaging just under 70 points per game at 69.8, fifth among UAA schools, and leads the UAA in field goal percentage at 43.5%. The Eagles are fifth in the league and 55th in 3PT field goal percentage at 33.7%. Where the team really strides in taking care of the basketball as the Eagles are fourth nationally in fewest total turnovers and 13th in DIII with 13.4 turnovers per game.
Led by senior Lindsey Tse's Division III leading 4.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, the Eagles are 12th nationally in that department at 1.17. Junior Molly Weiss has been feeling it from distance of late, sinking nine three pointers against Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve and now leads the team with 36 made from behind the arc. For the year, Weiss ranks 26th in DIII with her 42.4% from long range. Sophomore Tori Huggins leads the Emory squad with 11.8 points per game and is among the nation's best in rebounding (152nd, 8.6 RPG) and double-doubles (88th, 6).
Head Coach Misha Jackson has now guided her teams to 13 wins or more in her first three seasons at the helm, compiling an overall record of 46-21 (22-11 in UAA games) through her first 67 games as head coach. She is joined on staff by Sammi Goldsmith and Chuck Melito.
More Eagle Notes
Senior Erin Lindahl, one of four Eagles averaging double figures in scoring, moved into 11th place all-time with 948 points and is 52 points away from becoming the 11th member of the 1,000-point club…Senior Allison Chernow and Lindahl sit sixth and seventh on the program's all-time three-pointers totem pole with 114 and 113 made from distance, respectively…Chernow has converted her last 27 attempts from the free throw line, moving her into 11th place all-time with 179 made from the charity stripe…For the season, Chernow ranks among the best in the country with her 94.6 conversion rate from the line…Tse leads the Eagles with 48 assists this season, which places her second all-time in school history with 455 dimes, trailing only Savannah Morgan's career total of 526…Junior Blair Ripley currently ranks 89th in DIII with 28 blocks on the season…For her career, Ripley sits fourth all-time with 89 rejections and is six away from tying Coach Jackson for third place all-time.
Chicago Maroons (13-3, 4-1 UAA)
After opening the season 1-2, the Maroons have lost once over their last 13 contests, a 77-71 decision at Case Western Reserve on January 19th, and enter the weekend ranked 15th in the D3Hoops.com national poll and 23rd in the WBCA rankings. Senior guard Mia Farrell, the reigning UAA Athlete of the Week, led UC to wins over NYU and Brandeis last weekend, tying her career high with 31 points in the team's 11-point victory over the Violets before adding 11 points and eight rebounds in the squad's overtime win against the Judges. For the season, Farrell is one of three Maroons averaging 12 points or more, checking in at 13.9 PPG to go along with 4.1 RPG.
Leading Chicago in scoring is fellow senior Miranda Burt at 14.1 PPG. Burt has reached 10 points or more in all but two games this season including three 20-plus point efforts. Classmate Taylor Lake rounds out the senior trio for the Maroons in double figures as Lake begins the weekend at 12.9 points per contest. Sophomore forward Klaire Steffens is another name to watch out for as she averages 9.3 points per game and is second in the conference with 8.6 rebounds per game.
The Maroons are led by eighth-year head coach Carissa Sain. During her tutelage, Chicago has amassed an overall record of 131-65 and captured UAA titles in 2015 and 2018. Rounding out Sain's staff is Michelle Bilek, B.J. Dieterich, Breanna Madrazo and Dolly Yuan.
WashU Bears (8-8, 1-4 UAA)
Losses in six of its past seven contests has WashU entering the weekend .500 on the year at 8-8 after opening the year 8-2 and will play Rochester Friday evening. The Bears are 1-4 in the conference play as they sit in the bottom half of the league standings with their lone UAA win coming against Carnegie Mellon (73-67) on January 19th.
WashU, like Chicago, features a leading scoring trio averaging in double figures, led by freshman Sammi Matoush's 12.3 points per game. Matoush is one of three Bears with 33 or more successful three-pointers as she is shooting 34-for-96 from long range this season. Senior Kristina Schmelter ranks second on the team with 11.9 points per game while leading the team with 8.1 rebounds and 15 blocks. Sophomore Samantha Weaver is posting 11.3 points per game and is second behind Schmelter at 6.4 RPG.
Head Coach Randi Henderson is in her third season at the helm, recording an overall record of 49-23 and leading the Bears to the NCAA postseason in each of her first two seasons. Joining her on staff is her husband, Duez, Morgan Scott, Annitre Edison and Shad Nichols.
Series Records
After eight straight wins from the Eagles in the late 1990s, Chicago has controlled the series this century including four wins in the past five meetings and lead the all-time series 40-21. Last year, the two teams split the season series with Emory taking the finale by a 60-57 margin at home.
The Eagles snapped a 13-game skid to WashU last season, topping the Bears 75-66 at home to salvage the season split. All-time, WashU has earned a victory in 54 of the 61 previous meetings and is unblemished in 30 contests in St. Louis.