The Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team ended its first University Athletic Association road trip with a 64-51 loss at the 24th-ranked University of Chicago on Sunday afternoon in Chicago.

The loss dropped the Spartans to 6-8 overall and 1-2 in UAA contests, while the Maroons raised their record to 12-2 overall with a 2-1 league record.

Junior guard/forward Emily Plachta was the leading scorer for the Spartans for the sixth time in the team's last seven games, finishing the contest with 16 points on a six-of-16 shooting effort, including two-of-eight from behind the arc, while also leading the team with seven rebounds and two steals. Sophomore guard Mya Hartjes added 10 points, five rebounds, and a team-leading five assists.

The game was played within a possession for the entire first period with the Spartans taking their first lead of the day on a three by Plachta with 2:33 left in the frame. However, the Maroons quickly tied the score and took a 15-13 edge into the second quarter. Chicago led by as many as seven points in the second, going in front 23-16 with 6:38 on the clock, but CWRU responded with a three from sophomore guard Jordyn Call and a two from Plachta, pulling back within two points by the 5:00 mark. Chicago added a basket to go ahead by four, but the Spartans scored the final four points of the period, including a game-tying layup off a steal from Hartjes with 13 seconds left to tie the game at 25-25 heading into halftime.

Hartjes added a layup to start the third period that put the Spartans in front 27-25. CWRU held a one-point lead, 29-28, with 8:14 left in the third, but Chicago went on an 8-0 run that gave the Maroons the lead for good on Sunday. Chicago led by as many as nine points in the third and took a 44-37 lead heading into the fourth. The Maroons took a double-digit lead by the 8:33 mark in the fourth and led by as many as 16 points in the period on the way to the win.

CWRU finished the game shooting 27.9% overall (19-68) and 18.5% (5-27) from behind the three-point line. CWRU finished the game with a 12-2 advantage in points off turnovers, forcing the Maroons to commit 13 turnovers in the game, while turning the ball over just three times, the fewest in a game in program history. The Spartans also held a 24-20 edge in points in the paint, a 19-10 advantage in second-chance points, and a 7-0 edge in fast break points.

The Spartans will return home to Cleveland for a pair of UAA home games inside Horsburgh Gymnasium next weekend, hosting Brandeis University on Friday night, January 24, at 7:30 p.m. and top-ranked New York University on Sunday, January 26 at noon.

Spartan Notes

• This was the seventh straight game and the 11th time overall this season that Plachta has scored 10 or more points in a game. She is leading all Spartan players this season with 13.1 points per game.

• Senior forward Evie Miller, who entered the game sixth in DIII with 3.25 blocks per game, added two blocks on Sunday. She now has a career-high 41 blocks this season, tying her with Erin Hollinger (2008-09) for the eighth-most in a season in program history. Her 108 career blocks are three away from matching former Spartan Emily Mueller (2009-13) for the fifth most in program history.

• CWRU fell to 13-49 all-time against Chicago. This was the Spartans' eighth straight loss to the Maroons.