ATLANTA, Ga. – The University of Chicago women's basketball team fought back from 19-point deficit, but No. 16-ranked Emory University held on in the final minutes to win 86-78 on Friday.

The Maroons fell to 9-8 overall and 3-3 in the UAA. The Eagles improved to 15-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play.

Emory went ahead early 11-4. However, UChicago kept pace and used a pair of layups by junior forward Ellie Greiner and junior guard Claire Devaney to get within one point at 13-12. Senior guard Kate Casaday's three-pointer tied the game at 15-15.

The visitors grabbed their first lead of the game 21-20 after back-to-back layups by freshman guard Stephanie Anderson. The Maroons kept working the ball inside and tallied 20 of their first 23 points in the paint, to go with 11 of 19 shooting from the field (58 percent). Emory's defense responded by continually forcing turnovers and converting them into points to go on a 27-9 run. At halftime, the Eagles held a commanding 50-33 lead.

Both sides were efficient offensively as UChicago shot 50 percent from the field and Emory shot 51.2 percent. The home side forced 13 turnovers and pulled down eight offensive rebounds out their 20 total in the half. Greiner paced the Maroons with nine points in the half and Devaney added six points. Emory's Savannah Morgan and Hannah Lilly were hard to contain as they totaled 15 points each.

UChicago struggled in the opening minutes of the second half with three turnovers and two fouls. Devaney nailed a trey and a layup to make the score 52-40, and the two teams kept exchanging scores from there. Senior guard Maggie Ely also recorded a three-pointer and a bucket in the paint at 62-50.

The Maroons cut the deficit to 10 points on several occasions. Devaney swished another three to get within single digits at 72-64. The junior kept on scoring with several free throws and a layup to singlehandedly bring the Maroons even closer at 72-68. But Emory held off the charge in the final two minutes and earned the home victory.

Turnovers hurt UChicago all game, committing 26 overall compared to 11 by Emory. The Maroons led the rebounding battle 37-31. All five UChicago starters ended up with at least 11 points, but Emory led the bench scoring category 31-10. Devaney's 22 points were a season high and she reached double digits in scoring for the sixth-straight game.

UChicago Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal percentage – 53.6 percent (30-56)
Three-point percentage – 35.0 percent (7-20)
Free-throw percentage – 73.3 percent (11-15)
Claire Devaney (Guard, Jr.) – 22 points, 8 rebounds
Britta Nordstrom (Forward, Fr.) – 12 points, 5 rebounds
Maggie Ely (Guard, Sr.) – 12 points

Emory Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal percentage – 45.8 percent (33-72)
Three-point percentage – 42.9 percent (6-14)
Free-throw percentage – 73.7 percent (14-19)
Savannah Morgan – 22 points, 6 assists
Hannah Lilly – 19 points

NEXT GAME:

• Sunday, Feb. 2 – UChicago at University of Rochester, 12 PM (ET)