The Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team held a late lead over Marietta College on Wednesday night at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland, but a late free throw from the Pioneers proved to be the difference in a 67-66 setback for the Spartans.

CWRU junior guard Mya Hartjes and senior guard/ forward Emily Plachta combined for 37 of the team's 66 points in the loss.

The Spartans dropped to 5-2 following the setback, while the Pioneers improved to 4-4.

Stats and Standouts

• Hartjes led all scorers on Wednesday with 22 points, one shy of her career high, shooting eight-of-15 overall and two-of-six from three-point range. She added seven rebounds and a pair of assists in the game.

• Plachta also finished in double figures, scoring 15 points while collecting four rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block.

• Junior forward Maura Schorr added nine points on a four-of-six shooting effort with seven rebounds, five steals, and a block.

• Junior forward Biz Watson came off the bench to fill up the box score with six points, seven rebounds, three assists, five steals, and two blocks.

First Period

• CWRU took a 10-6 lead with 4:16 left in the first after senior guard Emi Hutter-DeMarco connected on a pair of free throws.

• Marietta responded with seven unanswered points to take a 13-10 lead, but sophomore guard Taylor Angielski answered with a three to tie the game at 13-13 with 2:31 on the clock.

• The Pioneers scored the next five points to go ahead 18-13, but Hartjes scored four points on a pair of baskets in the final minute to close the gap to 18-17 heading into the second frame.

Second Period

• Marietta maintained a slim lead until a Hartjes three-point shot with 5:10 left put the Spartans back ahead 25-24 with 5:10 to play in the half.

• The teams continued to go back-and-forth with eight more lead changes over the final five minutes of the half. However, Angielski hit a layup to put the Spartans ahead 37-36 with 14 seconds left in the period and blocked a shot on the other end of the floor to preserve the one-point lead going into the break.

Third Period

• Marietta scored the first points of the second half to quickly regain the lead, but the Spartans remained close throughout the period.

• Hartjes tied the game at 47-47 with a layup with 3:39 on the clock and Schorr hit a free throw with 3:08 left in the frame to give CWRU a one-point advantage.

• A 9-2 run gave the Pioneers a 56-49 lead in the final minute, but Hartjes connected on a three with 18 seconds left to cut the advantage to just four points, 56-52, at the end of the third.

Fourth Period

• The Spartans' run continued into the fourth with Watson making a pair of free throws to pull within two. Watson later stole the ball to set up a three from Plachta, putting CWRU back ahead 57-56 at the 8:15 mark.

• Layups by senior guard Maya Roberts and Plachta capped a 12-0 run for CWRU, as the Spartan defense held Marietta off the board for the first four minutes and 27 seconds of the fourth period to take a 61-56 lead.

• Marietta scored five-straight points to tie the score at 61-61, but Plachta quickly responded with a three to put CWRU back ahead with 3:40 to go in the game.

• Marietta would get back within a point, but Schorr hit a jumper with 26 seconds left to push the Spartans' lead back to three, 66-63. However, Amelia Uhrig answered with a three on the Pioneers' next possession to knot the score at 66 apiece.

• The Spartans missed a shot with eight seconds left and committed a foul on the rebound to send Marietta to the line. TJ Carpenter made one of the two free throw attempts to give her team the lead, and a last chance shot to win the game missed for CWRU, giving Marietta the victory.

Spartan Notes

• There were 16 lead changes and 13 ties during the contest.

• The Spartans finished the game with a 13-6 edge in steals and a 7-2 edge in blocks. CWRU had a 26-16 edge in points off turnovers during the game.

• With her 15-point effort on Wednesday, Plachta became the 32nd player in program history to surpass 750 career points. She now has 753 points for her CWRU career.

• The five steals marked a career single-game high for both Watson and Schorr.

• The Spartans are 4-10 all-time against Marietta and have lost six-straight games to the Pioneers.

Up Next

The Spartans will be on the road this weekend, traveling to Granville, Ohio for a key regional matchup against Denison University (8-0) on Saturday, December 6 at 1:00 p.m.