CLEVELAND, Ohio – Donning Mather College uniforms as part of Case Western Reserve University's seventh annual Throwback Weekend, the Spartan women's basketball team got 17 points and six rebounds from senior forward Erin Hollinger (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) in a 60-47 victory versus Brandeis University (Mass.) on Friday evening at Horsburgh Gymnasium.
The Spartans win their third-straight to improve to 11-8 overall and 4-4 in the University Athletic Association. Brandeis drops to 8-11 and 1-7 in the Association.
In addition to Hollinger, freshman guard Rachel Beaty (Carrollton, Texas/Hebron) scored a career-high 13 points, while junior point guard Erica Iafelice (North Canton, Ohio/Canton Hoover) pulled down a career-high nine rebounds.
In the first half, Brandeis led early before the Spartans grabbed their first lead at the 15:23 mark when Hollinger completed an old-fashioned three-point play to make the score 9-8. Brandeis responded with a quick 5-0 run and led 13-9 when Shannon Hassan hit a three-pointer at 14:03, but Case was quick to answer with a 9-0 surge that made the score 18-13 as Hollinger hit a layup with 11:55 left in the period. The Judges then cut the lead to 18-15 before the Spartans reeled off 10 in a row to stretch its run to 19-2 and overall lead to 28-15 at 6:03. Beaty keyed the run with a pair of triples at 8:01 and 6:34. Brandeis finished the half on an 11-5 run and trailed 33-26 at the break.
The Spartans were slow out of the gate in the second half, allowing Brandeis to hang around and eventually take the lead as Hassan continued a 14-6 run with a layup that made the score 40-39 with 10:12 left to play. After Brandeis extended its run with another bucket, Case tied the score at 42 when junior guard Evy Iacono (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) rattled in a three-pointer at 8:48. From there, the Spartans pulled away with nine of the next 11 points to lead 51-44 as Beaty hit a layup with 5:35 remaining. Beaty also completed a three-point play and hit two free throws in the final minutes to officially put the Judges away.
Brandeis was led by Morgan Kendrew with a game-high 21 points.
The Spartans continue Throwback Weekend this Sunday, February 5 versus New York University at 2:00 p.m.