The Emory women's basketball team battled No. 4-ranked New York University on even terms for 40 minutes Friday evening, but came up short in its bid to upend the No. 4-ranked Violets.  NYU upped its overall record to 13-0, 2-0 in the University Athletic Association following a 48-45 decision over the Eagles who slipped to 9-4 overall, 0-2 in the league.

Emory trailed by a 37-31 margin heading into the fourth quarter, but opened the final frame on an 8-2 spurt, four points coming by sophomore Mikaila Schmitt, to tie the count at 39-39 with 4:49 remaining.  The Violets creeped ahead by three points before a bucket by Schmitt, who scored all of her six points of the night in the final stanza, cut the Emory deficit to one point.  After NYU's Amy Harioka made one of two from the foul line, a layup by the Eagles' Shellie Kaniut knotted the score at 43-43 with 2:00 on the clock.  Senior Megan Dawe, who led all players with 15 points, gave NYU the lead for good when she knocked down a pair from the stripe with 1:39 left.  The Eagles' misfired on their ensuing possession but gained the ball right back when Kanuit came up with a steal.  However, Emory turned the ball over, leading to a pair of Violet free throws.  Sophomore Duembi Egbuna keep the Eagles' hopes alive when an aggressive drive to the hole resulted in a bucket, drawing them to within two points.  When NYU made one of two free throws with 19 ticks left, Emory had a chance to tie but a triple try in the waning seconds missed the mark.

Egbuna, along with the senior tandem of Khadijah Sayyid and Sarah Arington shared for team honors with eight points apiece.  The Emory bench came up big on the night, posting a 24-2 scoring bulge in reserve scoring. 

For the game, Emory outshot NYU, 36.5 percent (19 of 52) to 28.6 percent (14 of 49).  However, the Violets finished with a decided advantage in free throws, hitting 16-of-26 compared to the Eagles' four in eight attempts. Rebounding was a big factor as well, with NYU registering 50 boards to Emory's 25, and chalking up a 20-7 margin on the offensive end of the floor,  which led to a 19-6 Violet advantage in second-chance points.

After shooting just 21.4 percent (3 of 14) from the floor and being outrebounded by a 17-8 margin, Emory faced a 17-9 deficit after the opening 10 minutes of action.  After a three pointer by Fran Sweeney knotted the score at 8-8, Harioka knocked down three straight triples to give NYU a nine-point cushion.  A charity toss by Kaniut with 2:06 on the clock closed out the stanza's scoring.   The second quarter was a reversal of the first with Emory outpointing the hosts, 16-8, converting six-of-10 field goal attempts while NYU connected on just three of its 13 opportunities.  Down by seven points, the Eagles held NYU scoreless for a 4:55 stretch while scoring nine unanswered points, capped by a basket by Michelle Bevan, take their first lead of the contest at 25-23.  A Dawe layup, her ninth and tenth points of the half, with 1:00 remaining knotted the score at 25-25, and would close out the scoring for the half.  Sayyid led Emory with eight points, hitting three-of-five from the floor, including a pair of treys, while senior Arington gave the Eagles a big boost off the bench, totaling six points on three-of-five shooting from the field.  Emory was successful on 37.5 percent (9 of 24) from the filed during the two quarters while NYU hit on 29 percent (9 of 31).

Emory returns to action on Sunday (Jan. 17) when it plays at Brandeis University in a scheduled 1:00 pm start.