The Emory women's basketball saw a seven-game win streak come to an end Friday evening as it came out on the short end of a hard-fought road decision to Case Western Reserve. The Spartans saw their record improve to 14-9, 6-6 in the University Athletic Association, following a 63-58 verdict over the Eagles who slipped to 17-6 in overall action, 8-4 in the league.
Senior Ashley Oldshue recorded her seventh double-double of the campaign and 18th of her career, pacing the Emory squad with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Juniors Allison Chernow and Erin Lindahl were the Eagles' other double-digit scorers with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Chernow also chipped in seven rebounds and dished out four assists while Lindahl knocked down five field goals in 10 tries, including two treys that boosted her streak to 18 games with at least one triple, tying the program's sixth-longest mark.
Emory held a 51-48 advantage with 6:31 left in the game after Lindahl converted off an offensive rebound. However, the Eagles went scoreless for over a four-minute stretch while the Spartans rattled off eight straight points that allowed the hosts to post a 56-51 margin with 2:26 remaining. Emory scrapped back to knot the score with 1:28 on the clock after a bucket by sophomore Blair Ripley and a Lindahl three-pointer, but a pair of free throws by CWRU's Kara Hageman and one by Alicia Marie Gonzales pushed the Spartans to a three-point lead. After a bucket by Ripley drew Emory to within one point with 31 seconds remaining, two charity tosses by Kendall McConico kept the Spartans ahead by three points. Emory misfired on a three-point attempt on its ensuing possession which led to McConico hitting one free throw that extended Case Western's edge to four points with nine seconds left. Hillary Hellman led CWRU with a game-high 21 points.
The Spartans held the edge in field goal shooting, hitting 40.7 percent (22-of-54) of its tries compared to the Eagles' 36.9 percent (24-of-65). Case converted 33.3 percent (7-of-21) of its three-point opportunities while Emory finished at 28.6 percent (4-of-14). The Spartans held a 42-35 cushion in the rebounding category.
In a closely played first half, the Spartans claimed a 32-30 edge heading into the break. Emory was successful on 41.9 percent (13-of-31) from the floor while the Spartans checked in at 42.9 percent (12-of-28), which included 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from beyond the arc. Oldshue led the Eagles' scoring effort with 11 points while Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod totaled all seven of her points in the opening frame as the teams battled to a 12-12 standoff. Case held a pair of four-point leads, including a 32-28 count with 37 seconds left before a bucket by Oldshue closed out the scoring for the opening two quarters.
Emory returns to action on Sunday (Feb. 17) when it plays at Carnegie Mellon in a 2:00 pm start.