The Emory University women's basketball team continued its hot streak taking down Asbury 63-45 on Tuesday afternoon in the Woodruff PE Center.
The Eagles record moves to 8-1 as they have now rattled off four straight wins as they head into conference play later this week.
Sophomore Daniella Aronsky had another stellar night, posting her first career double-double as she led the team in scoring with a career-high 17 points while also recording her fifth game this season with double digit assists, pouring in 12 to bring her nation-leading season average to 9.2 assists per game. Sophomore Morgan Laudick was a steadying presence for the Eagles in what was a physical game scoring nine points and pulling down four rebounds. Senior Mariane Auza had an efficient shooting night going 4-for-7 from the floor for eight points while also applying her usual defensive pressure generating two steals over the course of the game. For Asbury, Haleigh Releford led the team in scoring, notching 11 points while also snaring a team-high six rebounds.
The Eagles never trailed in the contest stretching their lead out by as much as 20 points thanks in large part to their presence in the paint as they scored 30 points to Asbury's 20 in the painted section. Emory also controlled the boards out rebounding Asbury 48-35 leading directly to Emory's 12 second chance points. Asbury did have a distinct advantage at the line where they shot 25 free throws to Emory's six.
Emory opened the game pushing the tempo allowing the team to get out to an early 12-3 lead with Aronsky scoring or assisting on ten of the Eagles first 12 points. Heading into the second quarter the Eagles would stretch their lead out to 33-13 thanks in large part to a 10-0 run highlighted by a couple of fast break layups from freshman Lily Kennedy. Asbury put together a mini-run of its own to go into halftime trailing 35-22.
The pace in the third quarter was slowed down substantially thanks in large part to Asbury's 14 free throw attempts but the Eagles still managed to string together some beautiful offensive possessions allowing them to head into the final period up 17 points. The fourth quarter was a low scoring affair as the two teams combined for 21 points as both teams cleared their benches allowing for maximum playtime for the bulk of their rosters. When all was said and done Emory emerged with a 63-45 victory to open up the New Year.
The Eagles are back in action at home on Saturday where they are set to kick off their conference schedule against No. 17 ranked Rochester at 2:00 PM in the Woodruff PE Center.