The Emory University women's basketball team couldn't complete the comeback effort against the WashU Bears on Friday night and dropped the matchup 72-61.
The Eagles now sit 16-5 on the season and 6-4 in the conference, needing the win to maintain third in the conference. The team was led by three offensive powerhouses with graduate student Claire Brock leading the way with 17 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Katherine Martini followed with 16 points, just two points under her career-high while junior Daniella Aronsky had a standout night posting 13 points and five assists.
The Bears outshot the Eagles in most categories and held Emory to just 22.2 percent from beyond the arc but Emory shot 90 percent from the line with Aronsky going 4-5.
The first quarter of the game saw a number of ties between the two programs with layups from Brock and junior Morgan Laudick tying the game at four before WashU pulled away with an eventual 10-6 lead. Brock followed with a three pointer making it a one-point game at 10-9. The two teams continued going toe-to-toe in the final four minutes of the quarter and the Eagles were able to tie the game five times before Sidney Rogers from WashU ended the quarter with a layup giving the Bears a 19-17 advantage.
WashU started the second quarter on an eight point run in the first two minutes before a layup from Martini started the scoring for the Eagles with 7:48 left on the clock. The Bears later pulled away for a 33-19 advantage with Aronsky and Martini brining the game back within 10 points followed by free throws from Brock bringing the score to 33-25 Bears at the 4:13 mark. WashU went on another 8-0 run before a late layup from Laudick ended the scoring drought for the Eagles with 0.03 seconds left in the quarter. The teams headed into the locker room with the Bears holding a 41-27 lead.
The Eagles opened up the third quarter with a 10-2 run forcing the Bears into a timeout to reset with 7:55 remaining in the quarter. Emory continued their momentum with four point from Martini bringing the score to 46-43 with a WashU advantage. After a layup from Georgia native Lexy Harris for the Bears, the game was held scoreless on both sides for three minute before back to back free throws from Martini and Aronsky brought the Eagles within two points. The Bears answered with five points of their own to hold a 54-47 lead heading into the final quarter of the game.
Martini opened the quarter for the Eagles with another layup but the Bears went on an 8-0 run in the next two minutes to take a 62-49 lead with 5:30 on the clock. Laudick answered with a few more points followed by a three pointer from Brock bringing WashU's lead down to just nine points. Late free throws from Aronksy gave the Eagles their 60th and 61st points, but the effort fell short and the Eagles fell 72-61.
The team will be back at the WoodPEC on Sunday, February 11 at 2:00 PM to face the Chicago Maroons in the final home Sunday matchup of the regular season.