The Emory university women's basketball team fell in a close matchup with the Washington University in St. Louis Bears on Sunday afternoon, 67-56, at home in Atlanta, Georgia.
 
The Eagles fall to 10-6 on the season and sit 2-3 in conference play while the Bears, who received votes in the d3hoops.com poll this week, improve to 12-4 with a 3-2 conference record.
 
Three Eagles, graduate student Hanna Malik, junior Katherine Martini, and sophomore Alexandra Loucopoulos, all posted 12 points in the matchup while senior Erin Martin notched a season-high nine rebounds. Loucopoulos also played a major role in the matchup totaling four steals, one away from her career high.
 
Emory jumped out early in the first quarter with back to back layups but WashU was right on the Eagles' trail coming back for a 7-6 advantage with 6:22 on the clock. Malik and Loucopoulos landed two three pointers in the next two minutes to reclaim the lead for Emory before the Bears tied the game at 12 apiece on a layup. The Eagles finished the first quarter on a 5-1 run holding a 17-13 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
WashU started the second half with five points in the first two minutes to take a slight 18-17 lead but Malik answered with a jumper of her own to take back the lead. Over the next three minutes, the lead changed twice with sophomore Mary Mullinax sinking a layup at the 4:25 minute mark keeping the advantage with Emory. Both teams were scoreless for the next two minutes with Malik breaking the drought with a three pointer for a 26-21 lead. The Bears ended with a 6-0 run to take a 27-26 lead into the locker room.
 
The scoring momentum continued for WashU out of the break opening with an 8-2 run for a seven-point lead in the first three minutes. The Eagles fought their way back with points from Loucopoulos and Martini cutting the Bears' lead to two-points but WashU answered to take a 42-38 lead with 2:47 remaining in the quarter. Emory wasn't giving up without a fight at the end of the quarter going on a 10-4 run in the next minute and a half to hold a 48-46 advantage. The scoring wasn't done there with both teams fighting at the end of the quarter taking a 50-50 score into the third quarter.
 
The fourth quarter was all Bears' with WashU outscoring the Eagles 17-6 in the final 10 minutes of the game. Emory scored six points in the first two minutes of the quarter reclaiming the lead at 54-53 before Martini landed a layup with 5:10 remaining on the clock. The Bears finished the game with a 9-0 run in the final five minutes to clinch the win, 67-56.
 
Emory will return to the WoodPEC on Friday, January 31 to face the No. 24 ranked Carnegie Mellon Tartans at 7:30 before facing the Case Western Reserve Spartans on Sunday, February 2 at 11:30 AM.