From University of Chicago Athletics
Hot hands from beyond the arc sunk 12 three-pointers to give the University of Chicago women's basketball team a 72-65 victory over visiting Loras College on Wednesday.
The Maroons improved to 4-5 and dropped the Duhawks to 5-4 on the year.
Loras scored the opening six points of the contest. UChicago came back with some three-pointers from junior guard Caitlin Moore and senior forward Ellie Greiner to take the lead at 13-11. The flow of the game went back and forth from there with ties and leads exchanged. Loras found success scoring on offensive putbacks in the paint, totaling 11 second-chance points in the half.
Senior guard Morgan Donovan sunk a three and a layup to make the score 25-24. Freshman guard Elizabeth Nye hit a pair of treys near the end of the half to help give the home team a 33-30 advantage at the half. UChicago led rebounding 22-17, with nine offensive boards. Nye's eight points paced the team.
At the start of the second half, Donovan caught fire with eight-straight points. The senior sunk back-to-back threes in the left corner and then drove the lane for a layup at 41-32. UChicago held the lead for the entire second half as a result, with double-digit advantages throughout. The Maroons made five shots in-a-row to build the score up to 56-46. Senior forward Claire Devaney contributed five points to that run.
However, the Duhawks slowly crawled to within striking distance thanks to an aggressive approach offensively. A Loras three-pointer with one minute left in regulation cut the deficit to 68-63. But UChicago converted all four free throws in the final minute to clinch the seven-point victory.
UChicago's 12 treys tied its season high which came against Carthage College on Nov. 30. Many came as the result of drive-and-kick looks as the Maroons continually looked to make the extra pass. The team assisted on 23 of 26 field goals thanks to the ball movement.
The Maroons led the rebounds category 43-32 in the final stats. Loras had the better of turnovers, 23-18.
UChicago Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal Percentage – 42.6 percent (26-61)
Three-point Percentage – 42.9 percent (12-28)
Free-throw Percentage – 66.7 percent (8-12)
Morgan Donovan (Guard, Sr.) – 17 points, 5 rebounds
Claire Devaney (Forward, Sr.) – 14 points, 8 rebounds
Caitlin Moore (Guard, Jr.) – 11 points, 8 rebounds