Heather Miller's free throw with four seconds left snapped a tie and gave LaGrange an 84-83 season-opening win over Emory Tuesday evening at Mariotti Gym on the LaGrange campus.  The loss dropped Emory's overall record to 2-2.

Emory outshot the hosts from the floor, hitting on 44.3 percent of its field goal opportunities (31-of-70) while the Panthers were successful on 37.8 percent (28-of-74).  LaGrange made up the disparity in field goal shooting by converting 25-of-44 from the charity stripe with Emory hitting 16-of-27.  LaGrange pounded the boards hard, finishing with a 62-40 edge on the glass, 22-6 on the offensive end that helped the home team to a 12-0 advantage in second-chance points.

Savannah Morgan led the Emory scoring attack with 15 points and doled out five assists.  Junior Becca Feldman and senior Courtney Von Stein totaled 11 points apiece with Von Stein hitting all five of her field goal tries including her lone three-point attempt.  Sophomore Misha Jackson topped the Eagles with a season-high 11 rebounds.

Emory led by as many as 14 points in the first half, 46-32, with 1:39 left in the stanza following a pair of free throws by Feldman.  However, LaGrange used a 9-3 spurt to close out stanza to trail by a 49-41 margin at halftime.

Emory scored the first six points of the second half, using baskets by Feldman, freshman Taylor Bruzzio and Morgan to re-claim a 14-point advantage, 55-41.   The Eagles still maintained a 10-point margin with 12:02 remaining following a trey by Von Stein that made the score 60-50.  However, LaGrange responded with a 19-5 outburst that put it ahead, 69-65 with 6:12 on the clock.  Emory answered with a 9-2 response, closed out by a basket by Von Stein, that gave the Eagles a 74-71 advantage with 3:59 left.  The Eagles still led by four points, 77-73 with 2:45 remaining, but the Panthers scored baskets on back-to-back possessions to tie the game.  A layup by Miller put LaGrange ahead, 83-81, with 54 ticks on the clock, but a jumper by Morgan knotted the affair up with 30 seconds left. Miller was then fouled on LaGrange's next possession and after missing her first free throw attempt, she made the second, her 20^th point of the night, that broke the deadlock and gave the Panthers the win.

Emory returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 28, when it plays at Birmingham Southern.