The Emory University women's basketball team ended their season falling to the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops 64-54 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon.
The Eagles finish the season with a 19-7 record and recorded a 9-5 record in conference play. Emory earned their highest ranking ever by the D3Hoops.com poll at No. 6 earlier this season and saw three wins against ranked opponents this season.
Graduate student Claire Brock led the way for the Eagles on Friday scoring 20 points and notching three rebounds. Junior Erin Martin had an impressive day posting eight rebounds and led the team with three assists. Junior Daniella Aronsky also had a good day scoring 11 points with three rebounds and two assists.
Senior Izzy Munson started the game for the Eagles with a jumper in the first 25 seconds of the game before the Bishops answered with one of their own to tie the game. OWU went on a 6-0 run in the next three minutes to take an 8-2 lead with 6:56 left on the clock. Sophomore Katherine Martini followed with a layup but the Bishops followed with a 7-4 run to take a 15-8 lead over the Eagles with 2:54 remaining in the first quarter. Points from freshman Alexandra Loucopoulos and Martini closed the gap before Brock tied the game at 15 with a three pointer from the corner. Aronsky ended the quarter with three points giving Emory an 18-15 lead after the first quarter.
The Bishops wasted no time on a comeback to start the second quarter scoring four points in the first two minutes to take a 19-18 lead. Four more points from OWU gave the Bishops a 23-18 lead but Brock answered with another three pointer closing the gap to 23-21 with 6:18 on the clock. The Eagles were scoreless until the 3:51 mark with Aronsky making her first three pointer of the day holding OWU to a 27-24 lead. The Bishops went on a 6-0 run to end the quarter and took a 33-24 lead heading into halftime.
The first two and a half minutes of the third quarter were scoreless from both sides before a jumper from the Bishops at the 7:24 mark broke the streak. Two points from both sides later in the quarter brought a media timeout with OWU holding a 37-26 lead. The Eagles went on a short scoring run in the next minute forcing a timeout from the Bishops with 4:55 on the clock. With OWU holding a 43-32 lead, back to back threes from Brock and Loucopoulos brought the game back within five points with just over three minutes on the clock. The Bishops finished the quarter on a 6-2 run and held a 49-40 lead over the Eagles.
The fourth quarter was a back and forth battle between the two teams with each side scoring three points in the first two minutes. Scoring from Aronsky and Brock helped the Eagles bring the game to 56-49 with just over five minutes left in the game. Emory was scoreless for the next three minutes with Brock landing a jumper forcing a timeout from OWU holding a slight 58-51 lead. Aronsky finished the game for the Eagles with a three pointer but the Bishops took advantage of free throws at the end of the game and took the matchup 64-54.