From University of Chicago Athletics
The No. 20 University of Chicago women's basketball team withstood a late charge from host Carnegie Mellon with a huge fourth-quarter run to win its 11th-straight game Friday, 82-62.
The Maroons (13-2, 4-0 University Athletic Association) remained perfect in league play, while the host Tartans fell to 9-6 overall and 1-3 in the conference standings.
Junior forward Olariche Obi had one of her best offensive efforts of the season, leading UChicago with 20 points, 10 rebounds, six steals, five assists, and three blocks. Sophomore guard Mia Farrell added 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, Taylor Lake had 14 points and six boards and first-year Marissa Igunbor was a force in limited action, netting 15 points in just 17 minutes.
Early action was close, with the Maroons leading the first frame by a 12-11 margin. But Obi opened the second quarter with a made free throw and a bucket and senior Madison Dunbar drained a triple to push that lead to seven, 18-11.
Farrell's layup at the 3:15 mark gave UChicago its biggest lead of the half at 32-16, but a small run by the Tartans to close the second quarter made it 36-22 at the break, advantage UChicago.
The Maroons opened the second half on a 9-3 run to push their lead to 17, at 45-28 with 7:47 left in the third quarter. That's when CMU began its comeback, rattling off six straight points en route to a 28-11 run that tied the game at 56-all with 9:10 left in the fourth frame.
UChicago, however, was not to be denied. Farrell capitalized on an Elizabeth Nye offensive rebound with a layup to help turn the tide, and Igunbor was huge down the stretch with three baskets in the paint to help the Maroons finish the game on an incredible 26-8 run.
In total, the Maroons defense held the Tartans without a field goal in the final 9:10 of the contest.
UChicago dominated the game in the paint, outscoring the Tartans by a 52-18 margin, and the Maroons scored 32 points off 28 forced CMU turnovers. While UChicago struggled from the 3-point line (4-of-14 compared to 8-of-23), the visitors made up for it in total field goals, outshooting the hosts 41.7 percent (32-of-68) compared to 34.4 percent (21-of-61).
Nye added six points off the bench and Igunbor added four boards to her total, all offensive, to go along with two assists.
Carnegie Mellon's Makayla Fillere led all scorers with 27 points on 11-of-21 shooting and Laurel Pereira added 11 points in the loss.