Sophomore Ashley Oldshue totaled 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Emory women's basketball team came out on the short end of a road decision to the University Rochester on Saturday in the University Athletic Association opener for both squads.  The Eagles saw their record fall to 9-3 following an 84-75 setback to the No. 22-ranked Yellowjackets who improved to 10-2 on the year.  

Oldshue connected on seven-of-11 from the floor and sank all eight of her free throw attempts in registering her ninth straight and 11th double-digit game of the season.  Her offensive production represented her third performance of 20 or more points this year.  Senior Michelle Bevan was the other Eagle to crack double figures in scoring with 11 points. 

Emory trailed by a 61-52 margin early in the fourth stanza, but a three pointer by Oldshue cut the gap to six points with 9:12 left in the game. After the teams traded baskets, a pair of free throws by Alexandra Leslie and a bucket by Lauren Deming stretched the Yellowjackets to a 10-point advantage with 7:40 on the clock. But the Eagles clawed their way back, using back-to-back baskets by Oldshue and a circus shot by freshman Erin Lindahl to rattle off six straight points, drawing them to within four points. The Eagles would get to within four points three more occasions, the final time  with 3:10 on the clock after a pair of Oldshue charity tosses made the score 73-69 in UR's favor. A 7-2 Yellowjackets' run, which saw Leslie score five points, put the home squad up by an 80-71 count with 62 ticks left in the contest, with that margin proving too much for Emory to overcome.  Leslie led all players with 31 points, 15 coming in the final quarter, while also finishing with a game-best 15 rebounds.

For the game, Emory shot 39.4 percent (26 of 66) from the floor while UR finished with an effort of 47.5 percent (29 of 61).  The Yellowjackets enjoyed an edge in three-point shooting, knocking down 43.8 percent (7 of 16) from distance to Emory's 36.4 percent (4 of 11).  Rochester finished with a slim 40-38 advantage on the glass, marking the first time an opponent had outboarded the Eagles.

It was a tale of two different quarters in the first half.  The Eagles stunned the Yellowjackets, pushing the tempo during the opening 10 minutes of action in taking a 28-15 advantage.  With senior Fran Sweeney scoring seven points and Oldshue chipping in six, Emory shot a keen 60 percent (13 of 20) from the floor compared to UR's 40 percent (6 of 15).  An 11-2 burst over a four-minute stretch was key in Emory bolting to a 21-8 margin with 2:13 left.  However, the tide turned in the second stanza with Rochester outpointing the Eagles by a 27-10 count that allowed it to take a 42-38 lead into halftime.  The Yellowjackets opened the frame with a 17-1 outburst that saw Alexandra Leslie score five points, propelled it to a 32-29 advantage. A three-point play by senior Michelle Bevan followed by a pair of makes at the stripe by Erin Lindahl pt Emory ahead, 34-32, with 5:04 remaining in the half, but UR used a pair of triples by Lizzy Atkinson as part of a 10-4 spurt to take the four-point edge into the break.

Emory returns to action next Friday (Jan. 13) when it entertains No. 5-ranked Washington University in a 6:00 pm start.