From Emory University Athletics
Junior Khadijah
Sayyid came through with her second straight career-high
scoring effort in sparking the Emory women's basketball to
home-opening victory over Oglethorpe University. The Eagles won for
the second time in as many starts, posting an 80-61 triumph over
the Stormy Petrels who slipped to 1-1.
After notching a career-best 24 points in a season-opening win over
LaGrange on Saturday, Sayyid topped that total with a 26-point
evening against Oglethorpe, hitting nine-of-15 from the floor and
eight-of-10 from the charity stripe. Sayyid also enjoyed a big game
in the rebounding department, hustling her way to a career-high 15
boards, tying the 16th-highest individual game total in
school history. Sophomore Shellie Kaniut registered
her second double-figure scoring effort of the young season,
tossing in 16 points on six-of-11 field goal shooting that included
a pair of makes from three-point range. Kaniut also chipped
in four steals. Sophomores Fran
Sweeney and Shelby Zucker, along with
freshman Dumebi Egbuna, all scored seven points with Zucker
grabbing six caroms.
Emory shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the floor and held its
cross town foe to 31.0 percent (18-of-58). The Eagles finished with
a 44-34 edge in rebounding and came up with 11 steals that helped
give them a 20-15 advantage in the points off turnovers
category.
Sayyid concluded the opening 20 minutes of action with her second
career double-double, racking up 14 points and 11 boards in helping
Emory bolt to a 40-22 lead at intermission. Sayyid had plenty of
help in the stanza with Kanuit scoring nine points and the Emory
reserves chalking up a 15-0 scoring advantage. Emory held a 15-10
lead before an 8-0 burst, started by a triple by Sweeney and then
followed by bucket by Sayyid and a three-point play by Kaniut,
stretched its lead to 23-10 with 6:40 left in the stanza. The
Petrels did narrow their deficit to 10 points with 4:09 remaining,
but Kaniut responded with a trey, followed by a three-point play
that boosted Emory's bulge to 33-17 with 3:33 remaining. The
Eagles' biggest lead in the first half came at 40-20 following a
three point by freshman Kennede Miller.
Oglethorpe opened the first 5:14 of the second half on an 11-4 run
that drew it to within 11 points, but Kaniut and Egbuna each scored
five points during an 11-2 blitz that pushed Emory to a 56-35 lead
with 11:49 left in the contest. A couple of foul shots by
Sayyid would give the Eagles what would prove to be their biggest
lead of the game, 61-38, but OU mounted an 11-1 comeback that
sliced Emory's edge to 62-49 with 6:51 left in the game. The
Eagles answered with a Sayyid bucket and a three-point play by
Miller to boost their lead back to 18 points, 67-49. From
that point, the closest Oglethorpe would get over the final 6:17 of
the game would be 15 points.