From University of Chicago Athetics

An inspired rebounding performance and a patient offensive approach were major factors that boosted the University of Chicago women's basketball team to a 78-51 victory over University of Rochester on Friday.

The Maroons (7-6 overall, 1-1 UAA) earned their first conference win of the season and dropped the Yellowjackets to 9-4 overall and 1-1 in the UAA.

UChicago went ahead 7-5 after a layup and three-pointer in succession from junior guard Caitlin Moore. Freshman guard Elizabeth Nye banked in a trey at 14-7, but each time the Maroons started to pull away, the Yellowjackets rallied back. An 8-2 run cut UChicago's advantage to 24-22. Rochester continually tried to put the ball in the hands of forward Alexandra Leslie in the post and kept drawing fouls.

However, two layups by senior forward Claire Devaney got the Maroons back on track and started a 10-0 streak by the home team. Sophomore forward Britta Nordstrom scored back-to-back on transition layups to push the score to 34-22. The Maroons eventually went into halftime with a 41-28 lead.

UChicago shot 52.8 percent in the half thanks to constant passing and probing of the defense. The home side went deep into the shot clock quite often, but the extra passes and dribble drives helped set up shots. Rochester converted 32.1 percent on field goals in the opening half. However, the Yellowjackets shot 11 free throws compared to only one by UChicago.

Nordstrom scored her 11th and 12th points of the game on the first play of the second half when she stole the ball and raced down to score on the other end. UChicago went to the hoop aggressively whenever the lane opened up and a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Stephanie Anderson pushed the lead to 53-34.

Rochester played solid post defense in the second half and didn't give up many easy looks at the basket. The Maroons worked hard for its offense and it paid off multiple times to keep the Yellowjackets from making a serious run. Back-to-back threes by Anderson and senior forward Ellie Greiner made the score 61-42. Then senior forward Hannah Ballard recorded a pair of three-point plays when she was fouled on made baskets to highlight an 18-2 run that definitely put the game away.

The Maroons owned the rebounding category 51-28, which included 17 offensive rebounds that turned into 23 second-chance points. The plus-23 rebounding margin was the team's second-largest of the season. UChicago turned 20 Rochester turnovers into 17 points. The Yellowjackets forced 24 turnovers but only came away with five points from those miscues.

UChicago Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal Percentage – 46.2 percent (30-65)
Three-point Percentage – 30.4 percent (7-23)
Free-throw Percentage – 84.6 percent (11-13)
Britta Nordstrom (Forward, So.) – 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
Stephanie Anderson (Guard, So.) – 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals
Claire Devaney (Forward, Sr.) – 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

Rochester Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal Percentage – 31.6 percent (18-57)
Three-point Percentage – 28.6 percent (2-7)
Free-throw Percentage – 72.2 percent (13-18)
Alexandra Leslie – 13 points, 6 rebounds
Kelsey Hurley – 9 points