The No. 18 ranked Emory University women's basketball team dropped its second consecutive road contest to a ranked opponent Sunday afternoon, falling to No. 17 ranked University of Chicago, 54-42, at the Ratner Athletic Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Juniors Alexandra Loucopoulos and Mary Mullinax led the Eagles in scoring with Loucopoulos going for a team-high 14 points and Mullinax adding 10 points following her career-best performance on Friday night. Loucopoulos doled out a team-best three assists while Mullinax was the team's leader on the glass with five rebounds. Freshman Mia Strazza added eight points as the Eagles fell to 12-5 on the season and 2-4 in UAA competition.
Mullinax and Strazza provided the early charge on Sunday as the duo combined for 10 points in the first quarter to help the Eagles lead 14-9 after 10 minutes. Strazza netted Emory's first five points as the team held a 9-2 lead midway through the quarter.
A cold spell limited the Eagles' chances across the remainder of the first half as the Maroons held Emory to just five points, three of which coming from senior Chloe Kreusser, over the final 13:23 of the half as the teams went into halftime knotted at 19-19.
A three-pointer by Strazza shortly into the third period gave the lead back to the Eagles but Chicago answered with a 9-0 run to lead 30-22 with 5:39 showing left in the quarter. Baskets from Loucopoulos and Mullinax trimmed the deficit back to six at 32-26 but UC ended the frame on a 7-4 run to lead 39-30.
Loucopoulos had the hot hand to start the final quarter as she found back-to-back jumpers to bring Emory to within five at 39-34. The Maroons countered with the next five points until a Mullinax triple ended the run prior to a timeout with 5:17 remaining. Following UC free throws to make it 46-37, Loucopoulos knocked down another trey for the visitors to make the score 46-40 with 4:22 to play.
From there though, Chicago's defense limited Emory to just a pair of free throws over the final minutes of the contest to pull away for the 12-point win.
After starting conference play with five of six games on the road, the Eagles will start a four-game homestand next weekend beginning with a rematch against No. 15 WashU Friday night in Atlanta. Tip off at the WoodPEC is set for 7:30 PM on February 6th.
