PITTSBURGH – Senior guards Evy Iacono (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) and Erica Iafelice (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) scored 18 and 12 points, respectively, as the Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team rode a 9-0 second-half run to open the 2012-13 campaign with a 63-56 victory versus Otterbein University on the opening night of the 2012 Carnegie Mellon DoubleTree Classic inside Skibo Gymnasium.

The Spartans (1-0) close out the weekend tomorrow afternoon versus Wesley College (Del.) at 4:00 p.m.

Iacono's team-high 18 points were accompanied by six rebounds and six assists, while Iafelice added four boards and five helpers. Senior center Emily Mueller (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) joined Case's backcourt duo in double-digits with 10 points.

In the first half, the Spartans got out to a 9-4 lead as Mueller hit a jumper at the 15:30 mark. Otterbein then scored six in a row to grab its first lead at 10-9 as Hannah Day scored a layup at 12:10. The rest of the period played close and neither side built a lead of more than three as the game went into the break tied at 27.

The second half took on a similar identity with numerous ties and lead changes before the Spartans broke a 43-43 tie with an 11-0 run that culminated in a Mueller layup with 4:22 left to play. Otterbein rallied to get as close as four when Day hit a triple to bring the score to 56-52 at 1:36, but Case was able to hit five free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Following tomorrow's matchup with Wesley, the Spartans return to Cleveland to open the home portion of the schedule versus cross-town rival Baldwin Wallace University on Tuesday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Horsburgh Gymnasium.