Junior Fran Sweeney scored a career-high 18 points but it wasn't enough as the Emory women's basketball team came up short at Birmingham Southern Friday evening.  The Panthers raised their overall record to 2-0 following their 54-44 decision over the Eagles who saw their record even out at 1-1.

Sweeney ended the evening hitting 7-of-12 from the floor, including four of eight from three-point range.  Sweeney was the lone Eagle to finish in double figures with senior Khadijah Sayyid next up on the team's scoresheet with eight points.  Sayyid and sophomore Mikaila Schmitt tied for team rebound honors with six boards apiece.

Emory ended the contest, hitting 25.9 percent (15-of-58) from the floor while Birmingham Southern posted an effort of 33.3 percent (15-of-45).   The Eagles connected on seven three pointers in 23 attempts while the Panthers connected on just one trey in 12 opportunities.  BSC did finish with a decided bulge in free throws, sinking 23 from the stripe to Emory's seven.

Emory went into the fourth quarter with a 40-39 lead but hit just two field goals, both by Sweeney, in 12 attempts, over the final 10 minutes of action.  The Eagles were also stymied by eight turnovers.   Sweeney's first basket of the quarter, drew Emory to within three points, 45-42, with 5:11 left in the contest, but the Panthers accounted for nine of the game's final 11 points, with Halle Knowles going six-of-six from the foul line over the final 33 seconds, to come away with the win.

After seeing BSC score the first bucket in the third quarter, Emory responded with a 13-2 blitz that propelled it to its largest lead of the game, 39-30, with 3:34 left. Sweeney totaled five points in the run while Sayyid and junior Shellie Kaniut drained treys.  However, the Panthers closed out the quarter on a 9-1 spurt, with Yorisha Bryant totaling eight of her game-high 25 points in that stretch.  

After hitting just three of its first 15 shots and turning the ball over seven times, the Eagles faced a 14-9 first-quarter deficit.  Emory regrouped early in the second stanza, rattling off a 12-4 charge, highlighted by a pair of three pointers by Sweeney, to claim a 21-18 edge with 5:43 left in the half.  BSC's Jameice Holmes then scored four points during a 6-0 Panthers run that put them ahead, 24-21, but Emory countered with a triple by Sayyid and a pair of free throws by sophomore Lauren Weems over the final 2:08 of the quarter to go the intermission all tied up at 26-26.  Both teams struggled from the field and connected on under 30 percent of their field goal opportunities.  Emory hit on 28.6 percent (8 of 28) while the Panthers were successful on just 24 percent (6 of 25) of their attempts.  Emory hit four treys in the first half, three by Sweeney who accounted for all of her points via the long ball, while BSC knocked down one triple in seven attempts.  Emory went 6 of 8 from the foul line with Birmingham Southern successful on 13 of its attempts in 19 tries. 

Emory returns to action on Sunday (Nov. 22) when it plays its home opener vs. Piedmont College in a 2:00 pm start.