The Emory women's basketball team made a successful 2015-16 home debut Sunday afternoon, defeating South Region foe Piedmont College.  The Eagles upped their record to 2-1 following an 83-74 decision over the Lions who saw their record even out at 1-1.

Senior Khadijah Sayyid turned in a solid all-around performance, leading a balanced scoring attack with 12 points, while topping all players with seven rebounds, seven assists and six steals.  The Eagles received strong bench play, led by senior Sarah Arington who scored 11 points, tying her second-highest career total, hitting five-of-seven from the floor and her lone free throw attempt. Sophomore Lauren Weems rounded out the double-figure Emory scorers with 10 points, sinking three field goals in six attempts along with all four of her tries from the foul line.  Weems also totaled six rebounds and three steals. The Eagle reserves outpointed the Lions' subs by a 46-26 margin.

Emory concluded the afternoon shooting 49.3 percent (33-of-67) from the field compared to Piedmont's 40.4 percent (21-of-52).  The Lions enjoyed an edge in three-point field goal shooting, knocking down 44 percent (11 of 25) to the Eagles' 33.3 percent (7 of 21), but Emory made up for part of that with a relentless performance on the glass, posting a 42-26 edge in rebounding.  Emory held a 16-7 margin in offensive rebounds which translated into a 16-7 edge in second-chance points. 

The game was tied at 11-11 with 3:17 left in the first quarter before Emory closed out the stanza on a 10-5 spurt that gave it a five-point edge.  Senior Ilene Tsao tallied four points over the final 3:08 of the quarter en route to scoring all of her seven points on the afternoon during the opening 10 minutes of action.   A three-point by PC's Taylor Swoszowski cut Emory's lead to 21-20 early in the second quarter, but Emory responded with a 13-1 blitz over a 4:31 stretch to claim a 34-21 lead.  Sophomore Camille Steger did most of the damage to the Lions during that big run, hitting a pair of triples and totaling eight points, while Arington added five points. Holding a 12-point cushion, the Eagles rattled off an 8-1 burst, with Sayyid scoring four points, in bolting to a 44-25 advantage with 2:43 left in the half.  Behind Arington's 11 points, Emory went into halftime with a 46-28 lead.

The Eagles maintained a healthy distance in the third quarter, at one point building a lead of 22 points, 53-31, with 7:49 left in the stanza. A three pointer by junior Fran Sweeney with 1:24 remaining enabled Emory to keep its 20-point edge before a three-pointer with seven ticks by Piedmont made it a 70-54 Emory lead after three.  Emory scored the first six points of the fourth stanza, four by sophomore Mikaila Schmitt, to go up by 22 points for the second time during the game, 76-54, with 6:32 on the clock. A triple by junior Shellie Kaniut kept Emory ahead, 81-60, with 3:06 left before the Lions scored 14 of the game's final 16 points.

Emory returns to action on Tuesday (Nov. 24) when it entertains LaGrange College in a 6:00 pm tip.