ATLANTA, Ga. - Brandeis junior guard Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./Barnstable) led all players with 16 points, but the visiting Judges couldn't overcome four different Emory players who scored in double figures in a 72-55 loss to the Eagles in University Athletic Association action. With the loss, Brandeis falls to 10-9, 2-6 in the UAA, while Emory moves to 9-10, 2-6 in the Association.
Kendrew notched 10 of her 16 points in the first half as the Judges led by as many as seven points. Kendrew hit a jumper with 9:19 remaining to put Brandeis ahead by a 17-10 score, and the Judges were still up by five, 27-22, with just over three minutes left after she hit a pair of free throws. Emory closed the stanza on an 8-2 run, with Misha Jackson's jumper with 26 seconds left giving the Eagles a 30-29 lead at the break. Brandeis outshot Emory, 46 percent to 30 percent, while holding the Eagles to 3-for-13 from downtown, but a 9-4 edge from the free-throw line helped the hosts to the narrow lead. Becca Feldman led EU with eight points at the break.
In the second half, Emory found their range from the floor, missing just six shots and hitting 71.4 percent (15-21). The Judges were still within two points at 38-36 after a Kelly Ethier (Springfield, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) jumper with 14:43 left on the clock. After a free throw made it a three-point contest, the Eagles connected twice from beyond the arc on their next two possessions, one by Feldman and one by Courtney Von Stein, to make it a nine-point game, 45-36, with 12:22 left. Sophomore forward Samantha Anderson (Johnsonville, N.Y./Hoosic Valley) converted a traditional three-point play to try to halt the Eagles' momentum, but Hannah Lily answered from downtown to respond.
Brandeis was still within striking distance with just over seven minutes to play on a Julia Scanlon (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris) bucket that made it 55-45, Emory, but the Eagles responded by hitting the next five buckets of the game, including a pair of trifectas, to pull away.
After Kendrew's game-high 16 points, Scanlon and senior Amber Strodthoff (DePere, Wis./DePere) each had eight points for the Judges. Strodthoff led Brandeis with five rebounds while senior Mia DePalo (Rumson, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) finished with a game-high five assists. After outrebounding Emory by 24 last Friday night, the Judges lost the battle of the boards, 35-30.
Emory was paced by Feldman's 14 points off the bench, while Lily had 13 points and Von Stein and Jackson added 11 each. Feldman and Von Stein each finished with three 3-pointers for the Eagles. Danielle Landry finished with a game-high eight rebounds, while Jackson added seven boards. Melissa Koike and Selena Castillo had three assists each, while Koike and Landry had three steals apiece. In addition to their hot shooting overall in the second half, Emory hit 5-of-8 from downtown in the second.
Brandeis is back in action against 12th-ranked Rochester on Sunday afternoon hoping for a split of the road trip, while Emory hosts NYU at the same time.