The No. 15-ranked Emory women's basketball team saw a seven-game win streak come to an end Friday evening as it came out on the short end of a road decision to No. 12-ranked Washington University.  The Eagles' overall record slipped to 18-3 overall, 8-2 in the University Athletic Association following a 65-54 setback to the Bears who upped their mark to 18-3, 8-2 in the league.  Following this evening's contest, Emory, Wash U and the University of Rochester are all tied for the top spot in the conference.

After a slow shooting start, the Bears ended the evening hitting 40.4 percent (23-of-57) of their field goal attempts compared to Emory's effort of 38.6 percent (22-of-57).  Wash U enjoyed a decided edge in three-point shooting, knocking down 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from beyond the arc while the Eagles struggled at 18.2 percent (2-of-11).  The Bears also finished with a 42-35 margin in rebounding. 

Sophomore O'Dez Oraedu was a bright spot for Emory, leading the team's scoring effort with a career-high tying 14 points.  Oraedu converted seven-of-10 of her field goal tries en route to notching her fifth double-figure scoring performance of the season.  Oraedu also grabbed seven rebounds on the night.  Junior Savannah Morgan rounded out the team's double-figure scorers with 12 points while senior Misha Jackson topped the team's rebounding effort for the fourth straight contest with eight boards.

After building a three-point lead at halftime, WU opened the second half on a 9-3 run, keyed by a four-point play by Melissa Gilkey, to assume a 38-29 cushion with 16:03 left in the game.  After back-to-back buckets by Morgan and Oraedu drew Emory to within five, the Bears responded by scoring eight of the game's next 11 points to take a 10-point advantage, 46-36, with 11:31 left on the clock.   The closest Emory would get from that point would be eight points with WU leading by as many as 15 points with 3:30 remaining.   Alyssa Johanson led the Bears in scoring with 16 points.

With Oraedu scoring six points off the bench and Morgan also contributing six points, the Eagles led by as many as 12 points in the opening half, 22-10, with 5:38 left in the stanza.  Also aiding Emory's effort during that stretch was solid defensive play that limited the Bears to just 4-of-18 shooting from the floor while harassing them into 10 turnovers.   After a runner by senior Danielle Landry made the score 24-16 in the Eagles' favor, WU closed out the final 3:08 of the half on a 13-2 burst that put it ahead by a 29-26 margin at halftime.   Johanson scored four of her eight first-half points in that run while Lucy Montgomery sank her second of two opening-half three pointers.    Emory was led in scoring by junior Selena Castillo with seven points.   Emory shot 44 percent (11-of-25) during the opening 20 minutes of play while the Bears hit on 37 percent (10-of-27).

Emory returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 10, when it plays at the University of Chicago in a noon (CST) tip.