After a tough loss on Sunday at home to LaGrange College (Ga.), the women’s basketball team could not get back on its feet at cross-town rival Oglethorpe University, dropping the contest 86-73.

The Eagles defeated the Stormy Petrels at the Woodruff P.E. Center last year in a one-point thriller, when Oglethorpe was ranked second in the nation.

Unfortunately, the Eagles could not replicate the performance as they dropped their second straight contest.

The teams traded baskets for the first 10 minutes of the game, but Oglethorpe managed to hold the lead for a majority of the time. After a lay-up by the Petrels’ Mareva Bone put Oglethorpe ahead 23-17, Head Coach Christy Thomaskutty called a timeout.

The timeout seemed to benefit Oglethorpe more than it did Emory. The Petrels went on a 7-2 run and then a 20-9 run after another Emory timeout to head into the locker room at halftime up 50-28.

“[The timeouts] were not effective in the first half,” Thomaskutty said. “We called three during their first-half spurt and they didn’t seem to do anything.”

The momentum in the beginning of the second half went back and forth until the Eagles began a run of their own. Four minutes into the half, senior forward and co-captain Whitney Martin hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 18, causing Oglethorpe to call a timeout of their own.

“We didn’t really make any halftime adjustments, we just came out and played harder,” Thomaskutty said. “The whole second half we came out with emotion and dictated play.”

In contrast to the first half, the Eagles were able to make the most of the stoppage in play and went on a 13-5 run to make it a 65-54 game.

With a little more than 10 minutes left in the game, Oglethorpe used a timeout to cool down the red-hot Eagles. The teams went on to trade baskets until Emory ran out of time and saw its record drop to 0-2. Oglethorpe particularly outplayed Emory from beyond the arc, finishing with a 43.5 three-point shooting percentage in comparison to Emory’s 22.2 percent. Overall, they out-shot Emory from the field 50.8 percent to 39.7 percent. The Petrels also out-rebounded the Eagles 46-42.

“You always expect to win the ball game, so we need to improve on our mistakes and work on getting offensive rebounds and second chance points,” Thomaskutty said.

Martin led the Eagles in scoring with 16 points and went 7-11 shooting, adding eight rebounds. Senior center and co-captain Keenan Whitesides added 15 points and nine rebounds. Emory shot 52.8 percent from the free throw line, sinking 19 of 36 attempts. Sophomore point guard Sally Peterson led the Eagles at the foul-line, making five of six free throws, and finished with 11 points.

One of the positives to come out of the contest was the emergence of freshman center Danielle Landry, who scored nine points, going 3-4 from the field. She also grabbed nine rebounds, picked up an assist, and led the team with four steals and a blocked shot.

“It was great, the young lady made things happen in both halves,” Thomaskutty said. “She didn’t back down. I’m proud of her effort and her performance.”

The Eagles will be back in action this weekend as they host the Emory Tip-Off Tournament. They will face Millsaps College (Miss.) in the opening round, with Covenant College (Ga.) taking on Agnes Scott College on the other side of the bracket. The Eagles are looking to win the tournament for the third consecutive year.

“It’s only the third game of the year so there is always room for improvement,” Thomaskutty said of her expectation heading into the game against Millsaps. “We need to improve our offensive rebounding and limit turnovers, and see if we can be the aggressor and play for a full 40 minutes.”

The game against Millsaps will tip off tonight at 6 p.m. at the WoodPEC.

— Contact Marc Miller.