The Emory University women's basketball team pulled off a big-time upset on Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 11 ranked Tufts 70-55 in the Woodruff PE Center.
The Eagles (7-1) were once again led in scoring by senior Claire Brock, who has led the team in points in seven of the eight games this season, who tallied 20 points to go along with five rebounds. Junior Paige Gross came off the bench with a fiery intensity as she put up her highest scoring total of the season notching 14 points on an efficient 50% shooting from the field. Gross also played a pivotal role on the defensive end where she totaled two steals and a block while drawing some of the toughest defensive assignments each time down the floor. Sophomore Morgan Laudick continues to impress in a starting role as she notched a team-high eight rebounds to go along with 11 points. The nation's leading assist-woman Daniella Aronsky had another nice game passing the ball, registering six assists while also scoring six points of her own.
The Eagles defensive intensity was the story of the afternoon as they forced the Jumbos into 21 turnovers which directly resulted in 20 Eagles points. The Eagles were also the more efficient team with their opportunities as they shot 41.4% from the floor to the Jumbos 31.7%. Despite the Jumbos possessing a size advantage over the Eagles, Emory was able to keep the rebounding battle close as they were just narrowly edged out 44-41.
Brock got out to a fast start for Emory scoring seven of the Eagles first 10 points as they jumped out to an early 10-6 lead. The rest of the first quarter was a dogfight as both teams dug in defensively to see the score knotted up at 12 apiece heading into the second period. The Jumbos made multiple efforts to open up the game, leading by four points at multiple different times in the second quarter, but the Eagles always had a response. Trailing 27-23 in the closing moments of the second period senior Charlotte Lowndes found Aronsky in the corner who hit a wide open three point shot to put the Eagles down a single point at the break.
A back-and-forth third period saw the Eagles finally land their first big blow of the game with a 6-0 run, highlighted by two buckets from Brock, that put Emory up 43-35. The Jumbos continued to fight but a fastbreak layup by Laudick on a beautiful pass from Aronsky in the final second of the third period put Emory up 45-39. Despite a humming Eagles offense, the Jumbos stayed within striking distance for much of the fourth quarter with Emory not stretching their lead to more than ten points until just over a minute remaining in the game. A free throw bonanza in the final minute of the game saw the Eagles blow the lead out to 15 points and earn the big time upset over the Jumbos 70-55.
The Eagles will play their rescheduled game from earlier this week on Monday, December 5th against Oglethorpe at 6:00 PM in the Woodruff PE Center.