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Chicago Completes Comeback; Downs #23 Wheaton, 82-77

Chicago Completes Comeback; Downs #23 Wheaton, 82-77
Posted: Nov 29, 2017

From University of Chicago Athletics

The University of Chicago women's basketball team dug in for a big-time comeback on the road to hand No. 23 Wheaton College its first loss of the year in an 82-77 victory at King Arena Wednesday.

Sophomores Taylor Lake (22 points) and Mia Farrell (21 points) led the way offensively for the Maroons and Olariche Obi pitched in a double-double with 11 points 17 rebounds, one board off her career-high.

The Maroons (4-2) trailed by as many as 14 in the second quarter, but withstood an offensive drought and cut the lead to 10 at the half, 40-30. Wheaton (3-1) opened the second half with a Devin Kyler triple, but back-to-back jumpers by Farrell and a Jamie Kockenmeister (11 points) 3-ball helped get the Maroons' offense on track early in the third quarter.

Trailing by 11, 52-41, with 4:38 left in the frame, UChicago senior Elizabeth Nye (seven points) kick-started a 17-8 run to close the quarter with a 3-pointer of her own. Farrell added eight points during the stretch, including a 3-point play with 3 seconds left to set up a fourth quarter with the Maroons trailing by two, 60-58.

Obi tied the game on a jumper in the paint to start the final period and UChicago would take the lead on a Lake free throw at the 8:11 mark. The Maroons used hot shooting from downtown – UChicago made three triples in the final five minutes – to match Wheaton, including a crucial make by senior Madison Dunbar with 47 seconds left to push her team's lead to six, 79-77.

Nye then calmly drained two free throws and Farrell added another to seal the road win for the Maroons.

UChicago finished 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) from the 3-point line and 27-of-65 (41.5 percent) from the field compared to Wheaton's 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) performance from downtown and 31-of-61 (50.8 percent) effort from the field.

The Maroons beat the Thunder on the boards, 44-33, with Lake adding seven rebounds, but the much taller Wheaton roster dominated points in the paint, 42-24. The game featured six ties and 10 lead changes, with UChicago taking the lead for good on Farrell's free throw with 3:09 left.