Box Score The Emory women's basketball team has six players score in double figures but it wasn't enough as the Eagles dropped a wild 80-79 decision at Oglethorpe University Tuesday evening in the season opener for both teams.
A pair of free throws by the Stormy Petrels' Sarah Jones, her 26th and 27th points of the game, with six seconds left iced the game for the home squad as Emory's Becca Feldman hit a three-point field goal at the buzzer to account for the final score. Jones finished the night sinking nine-of-14 from the floor, including seven-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Emory finished the game shooting 39.7 percent from the floor (31-78) compared to Oglethorpe's 47.4 percent (25-of-57). The Eagles held a 43-39 edge on the glass, led by junior Misha Jackson's 10 boards, and turned the ball over just 13 times while OU totaled 19 miscues.
Leading the Emory scoring attack was sophomore Selena Castillo with 15 points off the bench, knocking down seven-of-10 from the floor, while also coming up with four rebounds and two steals. Feldman was second high on the squad with 14 points on five-of-nine shooting, including four-of-seven from distance. Junior Danielle Landry and sophomore Hannah Lilly each picked up 11 points with Landry pulling down seven rebounds. Rounding out Emory's double-digit scorers were Jackson and sophomore Savannah Morgan with 10 points each.
The second half was a slugfest with seven ties and four lead changes. After trailing by four at halftime, Emory built a pair of six-point leads during the second stanza, the latest being with 9:07 left following a basket by Jackson. However, Oglethorpe stormed back with a 10-0 run that gave it a 64-60 edge with 7:08 remaining. The Petrels nudged ahead by five points, 72-67, with 3:55 on the clock before a layup by Castillo followed by a trey by Feldman knotted things up at 72-72 with 2:12 left. Four straight OU free throws gave it a 76-72 advantage but a triple by Morgan with 12 ticks on the clock slashed the gap to just one point at 76-75. A pair of charity tosses by Riley Cerone with nine seconds remaining made the score 78-75 in OU's favor before another basket by Morgan drew Emory back to within two at 78-76 with seven seconds remaining.
Sparked by nine points from Lilly, the Eagles held a 15-10 advantage with 14:06 left in the first half. However, the Stormy Petrels regrouped and rattled off a 14-2 spurt, capped by the second of three first-half three-point field goals by Jones to claim a 24-17 advantage with 8:07 left. The Eagles quickly responded with a 6-0 sprint, started by a trey by Feldman, to narrow the deficit to one point with 6:47 on the clock. A bucket by Castillo drew Emory to within one point with 3:10 left but Oglethorpe scored the next six points to push ahead by a 33-26 count with a little more than a minute left in the stanza. A triple by Castillo cut the Eagles' deficit to four, 33-29, at the half. Oglethorpe shot 44.4 percent (12-of-27 ) in the first half compared to Emory's 32.4 percent (11-of-34) effort. Emory did enjoy a 22-19 edge on the glass thanks in part to Landry's seven boards.
Emory returns to action on Nov. 21 with a road test at Covenant College starting at 6:00 p.m.
