Box Score Case Western Reserve University senior guard/forward Isabella Mills scored a game-high 23 points to pull closer to 1,000 for her career, but it was not enough for the Spartans who fell to the 18th-ranked University of Chicago 76-64 on Sunday afternoon in Chicago, Illinois.
The loss dropped the Spartans to 15-9 overall, including a 6-7 mark in the University Athletic Association this season. Chicago improved to 20-4 overall and 9-4 in the league.
Mills finished the game shooting five-of-13 overall, including three-of-eight from behind the three-point line, and added a 10-for-12 performance from the charity stripe. She also led the team with eight rebounds and four assists in the game. It was her ninth 20-point effort of the season and moved her to 974 for her career heading into the final game of the campaign next weekend. Mills will also enter next Saturday's game needing just four three-pointers to match the school's single-season record of 73, currently held by former Spartans Hillary Hellmann (2016-17).
Junior forward Kayla Characklis added 13 points on a six-of-10 shooting performance and junior guard Sarah Mitchell finished the game with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
The Spartans had the game knotted at 9-9 in the first quarter before a 10-0 run by the Maroons gave them a 19-9 lead with 13 seconds remaining in the period. However, CWRU trimmed the lead to 19-12 by the end of the quarter on a free throw by Mitchell and a layup by sophomore forward Evie Miller. Chicago extended its lead to 27-16 by the 8:05 mark in the second, but the Spartans got back within three points, 31-28, on a traditional three-point play by Characklis with 2:47 to play in the half and went into the break trailing by six, 38-32.
However, that would be as close as the Spartans would get the rest of the game, as Chicago opened the second half on a 12-0 run over the first four minutes of the frame to go ahead 50-32. CWRU cut the Maroons' lead down to as few as nine, getting to within 52-43 on a layup by first-year guard/forward Emily Plachta with 1:28 left in the third, Chicago scored the final five points of the frame to go ahead 57-43 after three, and it remained a double-digit deficit for the remainder of the game.
CWRU will conclude its 2022-23 regular season next weekend in Pittsburgh against Carnegie Mellon. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 25.
