Box Score W_A_T_C_H Pat Manning & Claire Baecher Interviewed by Gordon Mann of D3Hoops.com
Williamstown, MA (March 8, 2013) – The ball was not the only thing that Emory (24-4) got the jump on. They started the first five minutes of the game vs. Whitman College on a 10-2 run.
The Eagles' hot start was due to a combination of Savannah Morgan's superb offensive 1st half (13 points, 4 assists) and Emory's tough defense.
Despite their slow start, Whitman (23-5) was able to come back steadily taking their final lead with 40 seconds to go on a free throw by Heather Johns, which made the score 63-62.
The Missionaries closed out the game by scoring the final eight points to post a 67-62 win to advance to tomorrow night's Elite Eight game versus the winner of the Ithaca vs. Williams game that followed.
Even applying a full court press, the Eagles were hard to contain with Morgan registering a traditional three point play, making the score 27-17 in favor of Emory.
Down by 11 with 4:15 left in the first half, Whitman went on a 10-5 run to narrow the gap to only 6 points. Morgan ended the half with 13 points going 2-2 from the 3-point line and 4 assists. Selena Castillo followed close behind with 8 points on 3-4 shooting.
Sarah Anderegg did her best to keep the Missionaries within striking distance with 8 points, an assist and a steal. Whitman shot 52 percent from the field, while Emory shot a similar 51.7 percent.
The second half told a different story. The Missionaries were able to break down the Eagles' defense and scored most of their baskets in the paint.
Misha Jackson did her best to keep Whitman from out scoring Emory by bringing her own offensive presence to the paint and scoring 6 points within the first 5 minutes. Even with that, the Eagles had a hard time keeping the Missionaries from going shot for shot with them.
The Missionaries went on an 8-0 run with 10:00 remaining in the half. Heather Johns netted 6 of the 8 points and assisted on the other 2 points, giving Whitman a 57-54 lead.
Castillo would not let the Eagles go down without a fight. She put together her own 5-0 run to put the Eagles in front once again, 60-59.
With 5:43 left Danielle Landry scored a basket and boosted the Emory lead to three, 62-59.
Whitman asserted itself over the final five minutes as they fashioned an 8-0 run highlighted by Johns tallying four of the eight points to make the final score 67-62.
Emory was led in scoring by Savannah Morgan with 17 points, Selena Castillo 15 and Misha Jackson added 13. Jackson led the Eagle son the glass with six boards, but the Missionaries led on the glass on the night 36-22.
Meghan White led the Whitman with nine boards while Sarah Anderegg topped the scoring for the Missionaries with 16 points. Heather Johns and Mary Madden each tallied 13.
Emory hit on 44.6% from the floor(25-56) and hit on 7-15 (46.7%) from three-point land.
Whitman scored on 51% of their field goals, 26-51 and connected on 4-9 from three. Whitman was able to collect the victory despite committing six more turnovers in the contest, 20-14
Post-Game Comments Emory:
Head Coach Christy Thomaskutty:
General thoughts: "It was a tremendous opportunity for us tonight. We started strong but in key points throughout the game Whitman made some big shots. It's disappointing for us, especially for our seniors and it's unfortunate we didn't play our best ball tonight."
Misha Jackson:
On 6-point halftime lead: "We're never satisfied. You're only satisfied when the clock stops at the end of the game."
Coach Thomaskutty:
On the end of the game: "We tried to put pressure on them defensively. Credit Whitman in that they made the free throws that they needed to. We came into this game knowing what a tremendous team Whitman was in regards to rebounding and defense. I think they're scrappy and they're tough. No excuses but we just didn't push through a little of the adversity there at the end of the ball game."
On defense: "We were disappointed with our defense. We started off so strong each half but whether it was fatigue or what not they always fought back."
Danielle Landry:
On the end of her career: "We have the best support system that we could have asked for. Our parents travel to all our conference games even though they are all out of state. The Emory students have been great."
Post-Game Comments Whitman:
Head Coach Michelle Ferenz:
General thoughts: "Wow that was a fantastic team. I thought both teams played great... I wasn't sure that they were going to miss there for a while. I thought our kids stayed in the game. We play in a tough conference and there are not a lot of nights off so I think that definitely prepared us."
On Emory's three-point shooting: "We did a much better job defending it. We let them get in a rhythm to start."
Meghan White:
On team mindset: "Our whole motto this year is to find a way. We were ranked 63/64 teams at the beginning of the season and that hasn't phased us at all. We've taken it to every team we've played against."
Sarah Anderregg:
On the trip from Washington: "It's such an honor to be here representing the Northwest conference. No one thought we would be here."
Coach Ferenz:
On halftime: "We talked about making adjustments offensively. One of the things that helped us was senior Mary Madden recognizing a mismatch. We adjusted some of the things we ran. We talked about getting out on the three and handling their motion offense a little better."
Meghan White:
On tomorrow night's game: "It's such an honor to potentially play either of these teams. It's great to represent the West coast. It's a great gym and it's a great atmosphere and we're excited to show everyone at home what we can do.
Sarah Anderregg:
On tomorrow night's game: "We're going to play our game no matter what tomor
