The Emory women's basketball team saw a valiant rally from a 25-point second-half deficit fall short Tuesday evening as it came out on the losing end of a contest against crosstown foe Oglethorpe University.  The Eagles saw their record drop to 0-2 following an 86-73 setback to the Stormy Petrels who opened their campaign with a win.

Emory concluded the game shooting 39.7 percent from the floor (25-of-63) while the host squad connected on 50.8 percent (31-of-61).  Oglethorpe knocked down 43.5 percent  (10-of-23) from beyond the arc and finished with a 46-42 edge on the glass.

Emory senior Whitney Martin scored a team-high 16 points, 14 coming in the second half, and finished the evening by sinking seven-of-11 from the floor.  Senior Keenan Whitesides tallied a career-best 15 points and pulled down a club-leading nine boards.  Sophomore Sally Peterson rounded out the team's double-digit scorers with 11 points.

Oglethorpe used a pair of big runs in the opening half of play to assume a 50-28 lead at halftime.  The Stormy Petrels went on a 11-0 spurt that changed a one-point deficit into a 10-point advantage with 8:36 remaining, and then capitalized on a 16-2 burst that pushed its lead to 23 points with 3:40 left in the stanza.

Emory went down by 25 points early in the second half before chipping away at the Oglethorpe lead.  Martin scored five points and Whitesides three in sparking a 15-4 charge that cut the gap to 14 points (62-48) with 14:18 on the clock.  Oglethorpe built its lead to 18 points with 8:15 remaining before another Emory onslaught, this time an 11-2 sprint, cut the obstacle to single digits, 74-65, with 5:09 left.  However, Oglethorpe withstood the charge and came away with the win.

The Eagles return to action on Friday (Nov. 20) when it entertains Millsaps College in the opening game of the Emory Tip-Off Tournament. Agnes Scott and Covenant College follow at 8:00 p.m.