From Washington University Athletics
No. 9 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball used a strong second half to overcome Emory University 76-65 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play on Friday evening in the Woodruff PE center.
WashU improved to 12-1 overall on the season after picking up its first UAA victory in its second try while the Eagles fell to 9-4 on the season and 0-2 in the conference.
The Bears (43.7) and Eagles (42.1) nearly shot at the same percentage from the field but a large rebounding discrepancy (45-28) led the Bears to 12 second chance points. WashU also outpaced the Eagles down low with 30 points in the paint while also draining nine shots from beyond the arc.
The Bears rallied past a two point first half deficit, 42-40, in the third quarter by outscoring the Eagles 24-10. Senior Jenn Dynis was the leading scorer of the quarter as she matched Emory's point total with 10 herself.
Dynis tied things up just 33 seconds into the third before senior Zoe Vernon's jumper inside the arc gave the Bears the lead they would not relinquish. WashU went on a 10-0 run to start the quarter and take control of the action. A three pointer by junior Natalie Orr gave the Bears a double-digit lead, 60-48, with 2:12 remaining in the third.
WashU continued to grow its lead when Vernon nailed a three ball from the wing within the opening minute of the final quarter. Emory closed out the scoring with a buzzer beating three pointer but ultimately fell 76-65.
In the first half, WashU fell behind early as Emory scored the first five points of the game but senior Lily Sarrosconnected on three shots while junior Natalie Orr added a three pointer to even things up at 9-all at the 6:15 mark. Emory struck next with a triple before Rachael Sondag evened things back up with a shot from beyond the arc. Sondag hit one more three in the quarter but Emory held a 23-19 advantage heading into the second quarter.
The Bears used an 8-4 run to open the second quarter and even things back up before a three ball from Orr put WashU ahead 30-27 for the first time with 6:47 to go in the half. The Eagles answered back with six unanswered points to take a 33-30 lead. WashU evened things up once more in the first half on a three ball by Sondag with 3:30 to go which knotted the game at 35-all. Emory scored seven of the next 10 points but two free throws from Sarros with less than 10 seconds left cut the Eagles halftime advantage to 42-40.
Dynis led all scorers with 17 points, all of which came in the second half. Sarros finished with 14 points while Orr totaled 13. The Bears finished with 22 assists as Dynis, Vernon and sophomore Claudia Smith each finished the game with four assists.