The Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team picked up its first University Athletic Association win of the season, defeating Brandeis University 64-53 on Sunday afternoon at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland.
The Spartans improved to 8-6 for the season with the win, including a 1-2 UAA record. The Judges dropped to 4-10 overall and to 0-3 in the conference.
First-year guard Mya Hartjes led all players in the game with 14 points, shooting four-of-seven from the floor and adding five rebounds, an assist, and a steal. First-year guard Jordyn Call came off the bench to post her second-straight 11-point effort, connecting on three three-point shots during the game. Sophomore guard/forward Emily Plachta finished with nine points and a team-best six rebounds, and senior guard Sarah Mitchell anchored a solid defensive effort, collecting a season-high four steals.
After Brandeis connected on a three on the first possession of the game, the Spartans answered with a 12-2 run to take a 12-5 lead with 4:46 left in the opening period after a pair of free throws by graduate student forward Kate Montgomery. However, the Judges scored the next seven points unanswered to tie the contest, and the two teams exchanged a pair of threes each over the final two minutes and 30 seconds of the period to keep the game tied, 18-18, at the end of the period. CWRU found itself behind by a point, 25-24, with 4:11 remaining in the half, but an 8-0 CWRU run put the Spartans in front 32-25, and CWRU carried a seven-point lead, 34-27, into the break.
The Spartans scored the first five points of the second half to expand their lead to 16, 43-27, with 5:50 left in the third. CWRU went on to outscore Brandeis 19-8 in the third and took a 53-35 lead into the final period after a Call three-point shot on the team's final possession of the frame. A quick 4-0 run to start the fourth quarter gave CWRU a game-high 22-point lead, 57-35, with 8:32 to play, as the Spartans cruised the rest of the way to the double-digit win.
CWRU finished the game shooting 40.4% overall and 35.3% from three-point range, its best marks since a December 1 contest against Kenyon. The Spartans finished with a 30-20 edge in points in the paint and a 10-2 edge in fast break points.
The Spartans will begin a four-game UAA road trip next weekend, traveling to Atlanta for a game against sixth-ranked Emory on Friday night, before heading to Rochester, New York for a Sunday afternoon contest against the University of Rochester.
