From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The Case Western Reserve University women's basketball picked up its first-ever road win against Washington University (Mo.), upsetting the 22nd-ranked Bears 61-57 on Friday night in St. Louis.
The win completes the first-ever season sweep of the Bears by the Spartans, who improved to 15-8 overall and 6-6 in the University Athletic Association. It was CWRU's second win over a top-25 team in their last three games after defeating 24th-ranked Rochester last Friday night. WashU dropped to 16-7 overall and to 9-3 in the conference.
After scoring a career-high 36 points on a school-record 10 three-pointers in the first matchup against WashU in January, senior guard/forward Isabella Mills stood out once again with 27 points and a career-high tying 16 rebounds on Friday. It marked her second double-double in as many games against WashU this year, her fourth overall this season, and the 11th of her career. She finished the contest shooting six-of-17 overall, including four-of-eight from three-point range, and 11-of-15 from the free-throw line while adding four assists and a steal.
Junior forward Kayla Characklis added 12 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Margaret Terry added eight points, and junior guard Sarah Mitchell finished the game with four points, seven rebounds, and three steals.
As a team, the Spartans shot 32.1% compared to 44.6% by the Bears but held significant advantages from behind the three-point line, where CWRU outshot WashU 38.1% to 9.1%, and from the free throw line, where CWRU held a 73.9% to 37.5% edge.
The game was played close throughout the entire first half with neither team able to take more than a four-point lead over the first 20 minutes of action. The Bears led 17-15 after the first quarter and 31-30 after the second.
However, the Spartans pulled away with a strong defensive effort in the third quarter. CWRU held the Bears to just two points during the quarter, and after a slow start to the frame, CWRU took a 34-33 lead with 3:21 left in the period on a three-point shot by first-year guard/forward Emily Plachta and never trailed again in the game. CWRU ended the third on a 13-0 run and took a game-high 11-point lead, 44-33, heading into the final period.
While the Spartans maintained a lead, WashU did not fade in the contest. The Bears pulled within two points with under four minutes left in regulation, but a three-pointer by Terry with 3:10 to play extended the Spartans' lead back to five, 49-44, and after a WashU miss, Mills followed with another three to extend the CWRU lead back to eight, 52-44, with 2:47 left in the game. The Bears once again cut the lead to two points, 55-53, with 46 seconds left and had a shot to tie the game at the free throw line with 37 seconds left, but the Bears missed both attempts. Five free throws by Mills over the remainder of the game helped CWRU lock down the win.