ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Emory University took control with a late first-half run Friday evening and went on to defeat the Bridgewater College Eagles, 83-43, in women's basketball action.

Emory, 8-0 and ranked No. 13 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, closed the first half with a 12-2 run to take a 40-18 lead at the half.

Bridgewater led early in the game, 4-2, on a jumper by Jessi Strom and 1-of-2 free throws by Cassidy Burkholder kept the Eagles on top 5-4.

Emory then used an 11-3 run to take a 15-8 lead. Bridgewater stayed close and trailed by just four when Molly Shelley knocked down a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 15-11 with 11:43 left in the first half.

A 13-1 spurt put Emory on top 28-12 before two free throws by Jessica Lam and a bucket from Strom pulled Bridgewater to within 28-16 with 5:52 left in the opening half.

Emory then closed the first half by outscoring Bridgewater 12-2 in the final five minutes of action to lead 40-18 at intermission.

Strom was the only Bridgewater player in double figures as she finished with 11 points. Lam added a career-high nine points.

Bridgewater did win the battle on the boards by a 42-35 margin. Holly Morgan led the Eagles with nine rebounds and Heather Cantrell pulled down eight boards.

Hannah Lilly paced five Emory players in double figures with a game-high 17 points. Savannah Morgan scored 12 points while Selena Castillo and Khadijah Sayyid finished with 11 each. Nene Tsao rounded out the double figure effort with 10 points.

Bridgewater, now 2-5, returns to action Saturday evening against Eureka College. Eureka, 6-3, lost Friday evening to Dubuque, 105-79. Tip-off for Saturday's contest is set for 8 p.m.