From University of Chicago Athletics
The University of Chicago women's basketball team scored the first 16 points of the game and locked down defensively to earn another large-margin victory, 90-52 over Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday.
The No. 25-ranked Maroons (5-1 record) have now beaten four opponents by at least 25 points, with an average victory margin of 35.2 points. The Battling Bishops (2-4) lost their fourth-straight game.
UChicago never trailed in the contest and used its aggressive defensive tactics to stall OWU at every turn. The active pressure on the perimeter halted the ball, leading to poor passes that the Maroons picked off again and again. All told, the Bishops turned the ball over 17 times in the opening 20 minutes.
The Maroons steadily pulled away and led 16-0 before OWU finally broke through with its first points with 1:21 left in the first quarter. Freshman guard Miranda Burt capped the run with a layup, absorbed a foul and made the subsequent free throw.
The scoring disparity closed up in the second quarter. The visitors began to find some rhythm on jumpers from the perimeter. Heading into halftime, the Maroons led 34-17. Senior forward Britta Nordstrom's forays into the lane were successful as she scored eight points in the first half. She was matched in her low-post scoring output by freshman forward Taylor Lake off the bench.
Early in the third quarter, Nordstrom converted a pair of layups to make the score 40-19. Then Burt heated up, hitting a three-pointer, two free throws and a layup in succession. The freshman put up 19 points in the second half en route to a career-best 22 points. She also recorded three blocks and three steals with quality defense on the perimeter.
Burt's scoring binge kicked off a 16-5 run, which included five points from Lake. The lead never dipped below 24 points in the fourth quarter as the home side cruised to the victory.
Four total Maroons scored in double figures – Burt (22); Nordstrom (14 points / 8 rebounds / 4 assists); Lake (13 points / 9 rebounds); and junior guard Elizabeth Nye (12 points / 5 assists / 4 steals). The abundance of forced turnovers directly benefitted UChicago's offense, which scored 39 points off 28 OWU miscues. The Maroons took care of the ball with only 11 turnovers themselves. Rebounds were similarly lopsided (42-31 overall) with a 21-11 home edge on the offensive glass.
UChicago shot 46.8 percent from the field (36-77), 29.4 percent from three-point range (5-17) and 86.7 percent on free throws (13-15). The Bishops shot 38.5 percent from the field (20-52), 43.8 percent from long range (7-16) and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe (5-6).