A career-high effort by junior Blair Ripley helped the Emory University women's basketball team to an 88-84 victory Sunday afternoon at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, OH.
The win helps the Eagles remain in the hunt for the UAA title, sitting tied for second place at 9-4 with one game remaining in the regular season. Emory, now 18-6 overall, trails only Chicago who won on Sunday to improve to 10-3. The Eagles close out the season at Rochester while Chicago battles WashU at home. NYU, who is also 9-4 in the UAA, finishes the slate at Brandeis on Saturday.
Ripley poured in a team-leading 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting and was a perfect 8-for-8 from line, including 6-for-6 during the final quarter to secure the win. Ripley added four rebounds, two assists and one block in 27 minutes and now stands alone as the single season leader in total blocks with 56, breaking Ashley Oldshue's previous record of 55 set last year.
Senior Erin Lindahl led a trio of Eagles that joined Ripley in double figures as Emory tied its season-high output in points. Lindahl went 6-for-8 from the field, scoring 14 points in 15 minutes. Sophomore Tori Huggins had 12 points while senior Allison Chernow recorded 11 off the bench. The pair each grabbed six rebounds, tying sophomore Kennedy Cater for the team lead in that department.
As a team, the Eagles shot 47.8% from the floor and 32.3% from three point land as Emory reached double digits in made three pointers for the second consecutive contest (10-for-31). The Spartans finished 30-for-57 from the floor (52.6%) and were led by a combined 52-point effort by Melissa Heath (35) and Abbey Lawrence (17).
After opening up to a 16-point lead in the first half, the Eagles saw CWRU storm back, eventually regaining the lead at 49-48 with 5:45 remaining in the third quarter. Emory responded with a basket to retake the lead, and the two teams traded baskets and the lead over the next two possessions. The Eagles pulled ahead by seven, but Heath cut the deficit to four, 61-57, with a pair of free throws at the end of the third quarter.
The Eagles grew their lead to as many as 13 in the fourth, using a 7-0 run with baskets from sophomore Anna Arato, Lindahl and Chernow to move in front 74-61 with 6:11 left to play. CWRU responded with 9-0 run of its own. The Eagles again were able to pull ahead by nine, 83-74, with 1:43 left in the contest. Following two free throws from Alicia Marie Gonzales and a defensive stop, Heath added a layup to cut the deficit to five, 83-78, with 1:07 to go. Over the course of the final minute, Emory went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe, clinching the team's third win in a row.
The regular season finale at Rochester is scheduled to begin with 12:00 PM opening tip on Saturday, February 29th.