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Junior Hannah Lilly pumped in 19 points and the Emory women's basketball team turned in another solid defensive effort in earning a victory over New York University at the Woodruff PE Center.  The No. 18-ranked Eagles captured their fifth consecutive win and raised their overall to 16-2, 6-1 in the University Athletic Association - good for a first-place tie at the midway point of the conference season --  following a 73-49 triumph over the Violets who fell 8-10 overall, 1-6 in the conference.

Emory never trailed in the game as it raised its home record to 11-1 on the year.  The Eagles concluded the afternoon hitting 42.2 percent (27-of-64) from the floor compared to NYU's mark of 38.8 percent (19-of-49).   Emory was successful on 8-of-21 from beyond the arc and also finished with a decisive 43-31 cushion in rebounding, the seventh time this year it enjoyed a double-figure advantage in that category.   The Eagles came up with 13 steals and harassed the Violets into 24 turnovers in registering a 21-5 bulge in the points-off-turnovers category, their eighth straight effort of recording 20 or more points off opposition mistakes.

Lilly connected on seven-of-12 from the field and knocked down a season-high five three-point field goals in nine attempts, running her streak to 22 straight games with at least one trey.  Junior Selena Castillo chipped in 13 points and registered four steals, raising her total to 54 on the year, good for a ninth-place tie on the school's seasonal list.  Junior Savannah Morgan rounded out the team's double-figure scorers with 12 points while doling out eight assists and coming up with six rebounds. 

With Lilly scoring 13 points and Morgan and  Castillo adding seven points each, the Eagles raced to a 40-21 halftime lead.   A 12-0 Emory run over a 5:50 stretch in the first half, sparked by three pointers from Lilly and Morgan,  snapped a tie and pushed Emory to a 16-4 lead with 11:46 remaining.   Holding a 13-point advantage, 25-12, with 6:42 on the clock, the Eagles churned out an 11-3 burst, with five different players scoring, that gave them the first of a pair of 22-point leads in the half, 37-15, with 3:04 left.

NYU opened the second half with back-to-back three pointers that cut Emory's lead to 13 points, 40-27, and the Violets still trailed by a 45-32 count with 16:12 left in the game before the Eagles put the game out of reach with a 12-2 charge that saw freshman Ilene Tsao score five points and senior Danielle Landry four points in building the team's lead to 23 points, 47-34, with 9:54 remaining.  Morgan would key an 11-0 explosion later on in the half with five points as Emory posted its biggest lead of the day, 68-38, with 4:40 left.

Emory returns to action on Friday, Feb. 1, when it plays at Brandeis University in a 6:00 pm tip.