A strong defensive effort helped the Emory University women's basketball team return to the win column Friday evening, knocking off No. 13/21 University of Chicago, 51-39, at the Woodruff PE Center in Atlanta.
The win snaps a brief two-game slide for the Eagles and propels the team back into a two-way tie atop the University Athletic Association with the Maroons at 6-2. Both teams moved to 15-4 overall with Friday's result.
Chicago, which entered the contest averaging 74.7 points per game, was held to its lowest scoring output of the season as the Eagles limited the Maroons to just 30.4% shooting from the field (17-for-56) and a putrid 1-for-14 from three point land. Emory forced 16 turnovers leading to 18 points. The Eagles made three more field goals on the evening, finishing 20-for-56 from the floor and knocking down four from distance in 18 attempts.
Emory rebounded from a slow start that saw the Maroons jump out to a 5-0 advantage early as the Eagles missed their first eight shots of the game and did not score a point until senior Allison Chernow made a layup at the 5:07 minute of the opening quarter. The Chernow layup sparked a 10-0 run for the Eagles to close out the quarter as Emory built a lead it would not relinquish.
The Blue and Gold went into the halftime break up 22-15 and moved ahead by a 35-21 margin through three quarters. The lead swelled to as many as 20 in the early stages of the fourth, with a three by junior Molly Weiss pushed the score to 43-23 with 7:38 remaining.
Chernow and classmate Erin Lindahl led the scoring once again for the Eagles as the duo combined for 29 points in the win. Chernow tied for the game-high with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting (2-for-6 from three) with Lindahl adding 14 points, going 5-for-9 for the game. Sophomore Tori Huggins chipped in with six points and six rebounds while junior Blair Ripley had her second straight game with four blocks.
The Eagles go for the weekend sweep Sunday afternoon as they host WashU in a 2:00 PM tip-off in Atlanta. It will be the team's annual Think Pink game in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.