From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team picked up its first win of the season on Friday night, topping host Washington and Jefferson College in the opening game of the SpringHill Suites Tournament in Washington, Pennsylvania.
The Spartans, who improved to 1-1 on the year with the win, will now turn their attention toward the championship game at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, where they will face off against La Roche College, which defeated Earlham College earlier in the day. Washington and Jefferson dropped to 0-1 on the year with the loss, and will take on Earlham in the consolation game on Saturday.
Junior forward Kara Hageman scored 15 of her team-leading 21 points during the second half of Friday's game, while adding six rebounds and shooting nine-of-15 overall from the field. Senior guard Jess McCoy tallied a career-high eight steals, and added 17 points and a team-leading nine rebounds, while freshman forward Hillary Hellmann finished the day with 18 points and eight rebounds.
The Spartans took a first-quarter lead on Friday, and never trailed again in the game. Falling behind 12-10 with 4:32 remaining in the first period, CWRU closed out the first frame on a 9-2 run, paced by a pair of three pointers from Hellmann, to take a 19-14 lead after the first 10 minutes. Case Western Reserve's lead quickly ballooned to 11 points after three-pointers by sophomore guard Alexis Amburgey and freshman guard Marissa Muth opened the second quarter. The Presidents would cut the lead down to two during the period, but a jumper by Hellmann gave Case Western Reserve a 37-33 lead heading into halftime.
The Spartans took game-high 12-point leads over the Presidents on a layup by Hageman with 7:42 remaining in the third, and a layup by McCoy with 6:55 left in the period. However, Washington and Jefferson stayed close, tying the game at 53-53 with 1:39 left in the third, before a free throw by Hageman and a layup by senior guard Alex Roth gave the Spartans a 56-53 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The teams battled back-and-fourth in the final quarter, as the Presidents tied the game on three occasions, the latest at 62-62 with 7:05 left in the game. The Spartans then went on an 8-0 run to create some distance, and converted six key free throws down the stretch run to secure the win.
Case Western Reserve shot 45.5% from the field on Friday, including a 51.6% mark in the second half.
Amirah Moore led the Presidents with 22 points and nine assists in the game.