GAME FACTS – The Emory women's basketball team will play its final game of the regular season on Saturday (Mar. 1) when it plays at the University of Rochester. The Louis A. Alexander Palestra on the UR campus will be the venue for the 51st meeting between the Yellowjackets and Eagles and tip is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
THE COACHES – Emory Head Coach Christy Thomaskutty (Tulane, '96) is in her 11th season in charge of the Eagles. She assumed her current duties prior to the start of the 2003-04 campaign and owns a school and career mark of 147-130. Thomaskutty has guided the Eagles to three consecutive winning campaigns, the program's longest streak since an eight-year run starting in 1992-93 through 1999-2000.
In 2012-13, Thomaskutty directed the program to an overall record of 24-4, and its first-ever UAA title (12-2). Emory earned the school's first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 1997, advancing to the third round. For her efforts, Thomaskutty and her staff were recognized as the UAA Coaches of the Year. In addition, she was recognized by D3hoops.com as the South Region Coach of the Year.
In his 15th year as the head coach of the Rochester program is Jim Scheible (Clarkson, '88). During his tenure with the Yellowjackets, he has compiled an impressive record of 287-125 that includes seven trips to the NCAA Tournament. In 23 campaigns as a head coach, Scheible owns a career slate of
428-196.
2013-14 RECORDS – Emory ventures to Rochester looking to snap a three-game losing streak that has left its overall record at 16-8, 5-8 in the University Athletic Association. The Eagles dropped a pair of home games last weekend, 82-73 to New York University on Friday and 75-72 to Brandeis on Sunday.
Emory is 8-3 in home games and 8-5 in road/neutral contests.
Rochester entertains Emory with an overall ledger of 11-13 and also claims a 5-8 effort in conference play. The Yellowjackets enter Saturday with a three-game winning streak and are coming off home wins over Brandeis (74-51) and NYU (71-62) last weekend. UR is 7-4 in home games this year.
SERIES RECORDS – Rochester holds a 27-23 advantage in the series with Emory that saw the first game played in January of 1989. The Eagles have won the last four meetings between the schools, including a 74-43 decision earlier this year (Jan. 11) in Atlanta. The Yellowjackets have won 15 of the 23 meetings against Emory that have been played in Rochester.
EMORY DUO TO SERVE AS CAPTAINS – Serving as captains of the 2013-14 Emory women's basketball team are seniors Savannah Morgan (San Jose, CA) and Hannah Lilly (Mercer Island, WA).
STEALS LEADING TO POINTS – Emory closed out last weekend with 22 steals, 13 vs. NYU and nine against Brandeis. The Eagles have come up with 10 or more steals in 19 games this year, and they lead the UAA and rank 11th nationally in that category with a 13.8 per-game average. Emory boasts three of the UAA's top five performers in steals led by Selena Castillo's (Tampa, FL) league-leading mark of 3.3 per game. Savannah Morgan holds down No. 3 position with a 2.4 per-game average while sophomore Khadijah Sayyid (Longmont, CO) is fifth (2.0 spg).
Emory's 22 thefts in the two games helped account for 43 opponent turnovers, which in turn led to Emory generating 35 points. Through 24 outings, Emory enjoys a 602-262 advantage in the points off turnovers category (25.1 ppg vs. 10.9 ppg).
The Eagles' 330 steals this year ranks second on the school's seasonal list, behind only the 405 thefts the 2012-13 club generated.
SWEENEY MAKES MOST OF MINUTES – After foul trouble limited her to 15 minutes in the NYU game, freshman Fran Sweeney (Norristown, PA) bounced back with a 22-minute stint against Brandeis that saw her score nine points on the strength of three three-point field goals.
Heading into Saturday's action, Sweeney has played 20 or more minutes in eight of her last nine outings. She has scored eight or more points in five of her last eight contests and has three-point field goals to her credit in seven of her last nine appearances.
WHITMER A SOLID CONTRIBUTOR – Senior Gabi Whitmer (Pittsburgh, PA) was Emory's No. 2 scorer in the NYU game, totaling 11 points, her fifth double-figure effort of the season, and tied as the squad's second-high rebounder with six boards. She followed that performance with another six-carom outing, tying for the No. 2 position on the team's stat sheet vs. Brandeis.
A starter in eight of 13 league contests, Whitmer has emerged as one of the team's consistent performers, averaging 7.5 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game with that mark good for 11th place among UAA players. She has pulled down 48 offensive rebounds in conference play and her 3.7 per-game effort on that end of the floor is first on the UAA ladder. In addition, she is shooting 49.4 percent (40-of-81) from the floor in conference games, good for the No. 10 position on the UAA chart.
Against Chicago back on Feb. 7, Whitmer recorded her second double-double of the season with 14 points (second highest career total) and a game-high tying 11 rebounds against Chicago, with that mark the second highest by an Emory player this season. She followed that contest by totaling eight points and four rebounds vs. WU in 16 minutes of action. She sank a pair of three-point field goals against the Bears, marking her first career triples in an Emory uniform.
MORGAN DIRECTS EMORY ATTACK-- Heading into the Rochester contest, Savannah Morgan continues to pace the squad in both scoring and assists. Morgan's 15.1 points-per-game average in overall play is third among UAA players, while her 5.5 assists average is good for the top spot on the league ladder and 23rd nationally in NCAA stats released on Monday (Feb. 24).
Morgan turned in a solid all-around game against NYU last Friday, leading all players with 27 points, tying her second-highest career total, and pacing Emory with seven boards and seven assists. She led all players in scoring in the Brandeis contest, totaling 21 points, the 10th time in '13-14 that she was the team's top scorer, while pacing the Eagles with a season-high tying nine rebounds.
Entering Saturday's bout at Rochester, Morgan has totaled 131 assists this year, good for fourth place on Emory's seasonal chart, while her 5.5 per-game average is the second highest in school history, second to her No. 1 mark of 5.7 set during the 2011-12 campaign. She has nine contests of seven or more assists this year.
Morgan is among the conference's top 10 performers in a total of eight categories including free throw percentage (6th, .769), steals (3rd, 2.4 spg), three-point field goal percentage (7th, .378), assist/turnover ratio (1st, 2.6, 13th nationally), minutes (2nd, 31.7 mpg) and three pointers per game (6th, 1.4 tpg).
Morgan has come up with 19 double-figure scoring performances and has eight outings of 20 or more points this year.
Career-wise, Morgan ranks seventh in career scoring at Emory with 1,141 points. She became the ninth player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau when she finished with 14 points in the Brandeis contest (Jan. 26). She stands as the school's all-time leader with 522 assists and is fourth in career steals with 200.
LILLY'S CAREER COMES TO AN END – Hannah Lilly saw her season and career come to an untimely end when she suffered a knee injury in the second half of the Wash U game played at Emory on Feb. 9. Lilly had scored at a 13.5 per-game clip this year while scoring in double figures in 15 of her 17 games.
A double-figure scorer in 70 career contests, Lilly holds down fourth place on Emory's all-time scoring list with 1,302 points. Her 46 treys this year boosted her career total to 221, good for the No. 2 position on the school's all-time list behind only Mandy Jackson's ('91-95) top mark of 243. She was a First Team All-UAA selection as a sophomore and junior after garnering second-team recognition her freshman year. In addition, she was a Honorable Mention All-American in 2011-12.
CASTILLO MAKING A RUN TO BECOME EMORY'S ALL-TIME STEALS LEADER – Selena Castillo closed out last weekend's games vs. NYU and Brandeis with eight steals, creeping closer to the school's all-time record in that category. Castillo tied her career high with seven steals, tying the fourth-highest individual game total in school history, in the NYU game before recording one theft in the Brandeis encounter, upping her career total to 225, just three shy of the current No. 1 standard of 228 held by Amy Carter (1993-97).
Castillo continues to lead the UAA while ranking 21st among D-III players in steals with a 3.29 per-game average with that mark currently good for the No. 1 spot on the Eagles' seasonal ladder.
Castillo starts play this weekend with 14 outings of three or more thefts this year, and her 79 steals are second on the Eagles' seasonal ladder, just one from tying her own record of 80 set last year.
NOTES – Emory has led by double figures at halftime this year on eight occasions … The Eagles have held the opposition to 20 or fewer points in six halves this season … Savannah Morgan came up with two steals in both the NYU and Brandeis games and has 17 contests this year with multiple thefts … Sophomore Ilene Tsao's (Fremont, CA) 10 points in the NYU game represented her third double-figure scoring performance of the season and fifth of her career … Emory concluded the Brandeis game with a 46-44 edge in rebounding, 24-14 on the offensive end, the fifth time this year it had grabbed 20 or more offensive boards … Emory is No. 2 in the UAA in offensive rebounds per game in league action (15.8 orpg) … Emory's eight turnover in the Brandeis encounter was the team's fifth contest of single digits in that category … Emory tops the UAA and is No. 2 nationally in turnover margin (12.08) … Emory has outshot the opposition from three-point range in seven of 13 league contests … Emory knocked down 12 three pointers in the Carnegie Mellon game (Feb. 14) , a season high for a league contest and the fourth time this year that it finished in double figures in that department … The Eagles outpointed the opposition by a 73.9-65.6 margin in the 11 games that were played at the Woodruff PE Center this year … In road/neutral venues, the Eagles hold a 71.9-63.0 per-game scoring advantage … The Eagles have turned the ball over fewer times than their opposition in all 24 games … Emory has 10 double-digit victories to its credit and its +8.6 scoring margin is third in the conference … Opponents have attempted more free throws than Emory in 18 games this year … The Eagles have outscored the opposition in 26 of 48 halves … Emory has won 16 of its last 19 and 32 of its last 38 home games … The Eagles have won their last 15 and are 39-4 during Thomaskutty's tenure as head coach when scoring 80 or more points (5-0 in 2013-14, 7-0 in 2012-13 … Emory has trailed at halftime on three occasions this year (36-31 vs. Salem, 37-30 vs. Maryville and 38-28 vs. Piedmont) but have bounced back to win … Emory's come-from-behind win at Piedmont on Dec. 31 represented the first time since Jan. 24, 2010, that an Eagle team had rallied to win after facing a double-digit halftime deficit. Emory trailed Piedmont by a 38-28 margin before earning a 73-70 victory. In the 2010 game at Brandeis, the Eagles trailed by a 35-24 margin at the break before finishing with a 73-65 decision … Emory set a school record with 14 three-point field goals in the LaGrange contest (Nov. 26), topping the 13 triples the Eagles converted against Brandeis on Jan. 15, 2012.