GAME FACTS – After earning a pair of University Athletic Association wins at home last weekend, the Emory women's basketball team faces a formidable task when it takes to the road to battle a pair of nationally ranked conference opponents.  On Friday (Jan. 27),  the Eagles battle No. 2-ranked Chicago in a 6:00 p.m. (CST) tip before venturing to No. 7 Washington University on Sunday (Jan. 29)  in a 2:000 p.m. (CST) start. 

Both contests will have a video stream provided.  The Chicago game can be viewed by going to the following address -- http://www.ustream.tv/channel/uchicago-athletics while the Wash U game can be accessed by going to http://bearsports.wustl.edu/Sports/BasketballMen/Pages/default.aspx

THE COACHES – Emory Head Coach Christy Thomaskutty (Tulane, '96) is in her ninth season at the helm of the program.  She assumed her current duties prior to the start of the 2003-04 campaign.  She is assisted by Katherine Menendez, Kim Coleman, Jessica Davis and Chelsea MacDonald.

In his eighth year as the head coach at the University of Chicago is Aaron Roussell. During his tenure with the Maroons, he has compiled an impressive 150-49 won-lost mark.  Tabbed as the UAA Coach of the Year on two occasions, he has guided UC to a pair of conference championships.

Nancy Fahey (Wisconsin, 1981) is in her 26th campaign in charge of the Washington University fortunes.  During her stint with the Bears, she has guided the program to five NCAA D-III championships, most recently in 2010, and a total of 19 league titles. Heading into a Friday home game vs. Rochester,  Fahey posts a career ledger of 610-108.

2011-12 RECORDS – Emory has won its last five and eight of its last nine, lifting its overall record to 13-3, 4-1 in the UAA.  The Eagles defeated Carnegie Mellon, 59-55, on Friday before closing out the weekend with a 68-56 decision over Case Western.  It is the team's second five-game win streak of the campaign with the Eagles notching five straight triumphs following a season-opening setback at Oglethorpe.

Chicago will entertain Emory with a perfect 16-0 overall slate, 5-0 in the UAA.  The Maroons, ranked No. 2 by D3hoops.com, emerged with a pair of home wins last weekend, topping NYU, 77-55, on Friday and Brandeis, 76-48, on Sunday.   UC enters Friday's game with a 19-game UAA winning streak.

WU, ranked No. 7 nationally, stands 14-2 overall (4-1 UAA) heading into its game vs. No. 5 Rochester.  The Bears have captured their last four affairs including last weekend's outcomes vs. Brandeis (69-42) and NYU (51-49).

Emory's Top Defensive Scoring Efforts Under Thomaskutty

SERIES RECORDS – In a series that started in February of 1989,  Chicago holds a 30-15 all-time mark against Emory.  UC has won the last eight meetings between the schools including last season's 95-72 (in Chicago) and 81-62 (in Atlanta) decisions.  The Maroons have won 15 of the 22 games against Emory played on their home floor.

WU holds a 40-5 bulge in the all-time series with Emory.  The Bears have won the last six contests including last season's 94-55 (in St. Louis) and 74-60 (in Atlanta) verdicts. 

EMORY TRIO TO SERVE AS CAPTAINS – Serving as captains of the 2011-12 Emory women's basketball team are senior Melissa Koike (San Francisco, CA) along with juniors Danielle Landry (Vienna, VA) and Misha Jackson (Atlanta).  

EMORY RACKING UP THE STEALS --  Entering the Chicago game, Emory has registered 10 or more steals in its last six and in a total of 12 games this season.  The Eagles lead the UAA and rank 45^th nationally in steals (12.6 spg) and are coming off last weekend's school-record 26 thefts against Carnegie Mellon and 13 against Case Western.  Emory's 12.6 steals per-game effort is currently tops on the school's seasonal ladder.   Individually, Emory has four players holding down the top spots in the UAA in that category, led by sophomore Hannah Lilly's 2.3 per-game showing.  Classmate Savannah Morgan (2.2 spg) is second while junior Danielle Landry (2.2 spg) and senior Melissa Koike (2.2 spg) are tied for third with Erica Iafelice of Case.

Over the last four outings, Emory has chalked up 64 steals which has helped it record a 106-49 advantage over the opposition in the points-off-turnovers category.

JACKSON SETS CAREER HIGH IN REBOUNDS – Misha Jackson established a career high with a game-high 14 rebounds in the win over Case on Sunday, her fourth double-figure performance  of the year and seventh of her career.  Her 14 boards against the Spartans represents the high-water mark by an Emory player this season and tied the 15^th-highest individual game total in school history. 

The 5-foot-11 Jackson has tied or led for team honors in rebounding on nine occasions this year and she ranks fourth among UAA players with a 7.9 per-game showing in that department.  She is fourth on the league ladder in both offensive (3.3) and defensive (4.6) rebounds per game.

MORGAN CLIMBS EMORYS ALL-TIME ASSISTS LADDER – Sophomore Savannah Morgan doled out eight assists, tying her second-highest total as an Eagle, in the Carnegie Mellon game, and followed that with three assists vs. Case.  The 11 assists over the weekend enabled her to move from 11^th place into ninth place on the school's all-time chart with 187 assists.  She is eight assists from moving past Meredith Darnelle (1998-2001) and into eighth place on that list.  In addition, she ranks first on Emory's career ladder with a 4.56 assists-per-game average.

The team leader in assists in eight of the last nine and in a total of 11 games this season.   Morgan tops the UAA leader board in assists (5.1 apg) and is tied for the No. 2 spot  in assist/turnover ratio (1.8).  She also ranks prominently in three-point field goal percentage (7^th, .375) and minutes (t-5^th, 29.4 mpg).

LILLY'S HOT STREAK CONTINUES – Hannah Lilly turned in a pair of big offensive efforts in the victories over Carnegie Mellon and Case Western, averaging 25.0 points and shooting 54.5 percent (18-of-33) from the floor, including 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from beyond the arc.  She sank 10-of-17 from the floor, including 6-of-11 from three-point range, en route to posting a game-high 26 points against CMU and followed that with a 24-point afternoon, 20 in the second half against  Case. 

Named the UAA Player of the Week as well landing a spot on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week for her performances against the Tartans and Spartans, Lilly has put together four straight games of 20 or more points and is the first Emory cager since Mandy Jackson (1992) to accomplish that feat.  Jackson put together eight consecutive contests of 20-plus points.  A double-figure scorer in 15 games and Emory's top point producer in the last four and in a total of nine contests this season, Lilly has chalked up eight performances of 20 or more points this season and 10 in her career.  In Emory's six home contests, she is tossing in 19.0 points and shooting 48.3 percent (43-of-89) from the field, and checks in with a 19.2 per-game scoring effort and 54.0 percent effort (74-of-137) from the floor in the Eagles' 10 away contests.

Lilly tops the UAA and ranks 23^rd nationally in scoring (19.1 ppg) and finds herself No. 1 in the league and No. 6 on the national scene with 3.2 three-point field goals per game.  The 5-foot-8 sharpshooter has totaled 12 games of two or more triples and her 51 treys tie her with Amy Carter (1995-96) for fifth place on Emory's seasonal list.  Career-wise, she has knocked down 92 from beyond the arc, good for sixth place all time at the school.  Lilly has three-point field goals in her last 21 games, the longest run by an Emory player since the 24-game streak enjoyed by Beth Bergmann during the last 19 contests of the 2004-05 season through the first five games of 2005-06.

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Thomaskutty 

LANDRY WORKS THE GLASS -- Junior Danielle Landry, who worked her way into the top 20 all-time Emory rebounders the weekend of Jan. 13-15, racked up a total of 15 boards in the Carnegie Mellon and Case games, moving her into 18^th place with 394 caroms.  She has a chance to continue her ascension up that ladder as she starts the weekend just four rebounds from moving ahead of Allison Reopel (1999-2001, 2002-03) and into the No. 17 spot.

Currently, the 6-foot Landry is second on the team and seventh in the league in rebounding (6.6 rpg).  She has led or shared for team honors in rebounding on seven occasions this year including a nine-board performance vs. Carnegie Mellon.

EAGLES SET SCHOOL RECORD FOR TREYS IN BRANDEIS GAME – Emory unleashed a deadly outside shooting attack against the Judges of Brandeis on Jan. 15, knocking down a school record 13 treys en route to the 70-40 victory.  That surpassed the previous mark of 12 set against New York University on Feb. 1, 2008.  Hannah Lilly and Emily Hyncik combined for nine triples in the contest with Lilly knocking down five and Hyncik four. 

NOTES – The Eagles have totaled 10 or more three-point field goals on three occasions this season and pace the league in both treys per game (6.9 tpg) and three-point percentage with the team's 37.2 percent effort from beyond the arc good for the No. 7 position nationally… The Eagles' 74.4 points per game average leads the UAA and ranks 15^th nationally … Emory ranks first among league teams and 37^th nationally in turnover margin (+5.06) … While Lilly has produced on the offensive end of the floor, she leads the UAA in steals (2.3 spg) and has registered 10 contests of two or more thefts … Senior Becca Feldman has been outstanding at the charity stripe this season, hitting 96 percent (24-of-25) of her attempts … Landry enters the weekend with 109 career steals, good for  11^th-place on Emory's all-time chart  just six thefts from moving into a tie for 10^th position … Landry has chalked up steals in her last 13 and in a total of 15 contests this years with eight games of two or more thefts to her credit … Feldman has recorded 60 treys during her career, good for 12^th place on the school's all-time chart … Misha Jackson has converted  51.7 percent (91-of-176) of her field goal opportunities, good for second on the team and seventh  among UAA performers … Emory has finished with a better field goal percentage showing against 10 of 16 foes and has outshot 11 opponents from three-point range …
Emory is averaging 35.6 points during the first half of play and 38.8 points over the final 20 minutes of action … Conversely, opponents are averaging 30.5 points in the first half and 28.6 in the second stanza … Emory has had players scored in double figures on 54 occasions so far this year while the opposition has produced 29 double-digit scorers … Emory has outrebounded 11 of 16 opponents … Emory has turned the ball over on fewer occasions in the last seven and in a total of 11 games this season … The Eagles are averaging 16.8 miscues per game compared to the opposition's mark of 21.9 …The Eagles are 24-3 during Thomaskutty's tenure as head coach when scoring 80 or more points.