Case Western Reserve University senior forward Kayla Characklis matched her career-high with 22 points but it was not enough for the Spartans who suffered an 82-62 loss at the University of Rochester on Sunday afternoon in Rochester, New York

The Spartans dropped back to .500 with the loss, falling to 8-8 overall and to 1-4 in University Athletic Association games. Rochester improved to 8-8 with a 3-2 UAA record.

Characklis' 22 points came on a nine-of-16 shooting effort from the floor to go along with a four-of-four performance from the free throw line and matched her career-high for points in a game set earlier in the season against Allegheny. She added two rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block in the game. Senior guard Sarah Mitchell added eight points and led all Spartans with seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

Characklis scored eight of the team's first 10 points to help CWRU jump out to a 10-6 advantage with 6:26 left in the first period, but the Yellowjackets followed with a 12-0 run to take an 18-10 lead with 2:54 left in the frame. A three by first-year guard Mya Hartjes and a pair of free throws by Mitchell helped the Spartans trim the Rochester lead back to four points, 21-17, by the end of the first, and a three by junior guard/forward Lucy Vanderbeck to start the second put CWRU down by just a point. However, the Spartans could not take the lead and Rochester went on to go ahead by 10, 37-27, with 4:12 left. CWRU answered with a layup from Characklis and a three from sophomore guard/forward Emily Plachta to get back within five points with 3:10 left, but Rochester ended the half on a 7-0 run to take a 44-32 lead into halftime.

A steal by Mitchell led to a Plachta layup on the Spartans' first possession of the second half, cutting the Rochester lead back to 10, but that would be as close as CWRU would get for the remainder of the game. The Yellowjackets led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, before taking a 65-50 lead by the end of the quarter, and were up by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter before going on for the 20-point win.

Eleven different Spartan players scored at least one point during the game. The team finished the game shooting 33.3% overall (22-66), 25.0% from long range (5-20), and 92.9% (13-14) from the free throw line.

CWRU will be back in action next weekend as it concludes a four-game UAA road stretch against the University of Chicago on Friday in Chicago and Washington University (Mo.) on Sunday in St. Louis.