WALTHAM, Mass. –The tandem of senior forward Erin Hollinger (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) and junior guard Evy Iacono (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) combined for 37 points as the Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team earned a 61-54 victory versus Brandeis University in University Athletic Association action on Friday evening inside Red Auerbach Arena.
The Spartans (9-8, 2-4 UAA) snap a four-game losing skid and look to notch their 10th victory of the season on Sunday afternoon at New York University at 2:00 p.m.
Brandeis dips to 7-10 overall and 0-6 in UAA play.
The Judges jumped out to a 9-3 lead over the first six minutes of action. The Spartans erased that deficit via a 9-2 spurt over the next four minutes of play and took their first lead of the contest, 12-11, with 9:53 left in the opening stanza. The Judges answered with a quick five-point run over the next 1:20 en route to building a 26-20 advantage with 2:11 left on the first half clock. However, Case ended the half on a 9-0 run with five points from freshman guard Rachel Beaty (Carrollton, Texas/Hebron) on a three-pointer and a pair of free throws.
Out of the halftime break, Brandeis recorded nine of the initial 11 points and possessed a 35-31 edge with 17:22 left before back-to-back baskets from freshman guard Brooke Orcutt (Morrison, Colo./Dakota Ridge) knotted the contest at 35-35. The Judges scored the next bucket, but Case tallied 11 of the ensuing 15 points for a 46-39 lead with just under nine minutes left. The Judges slowly chipped away and were able to cut the lead to four at 58-54 with 39.9 seconds left, but the Spartans hung on for the seven-point UAA victory.
Individually, Hollinger led the way with 19 points and a team-best nine rebounds in the victory. Iacono finished with 18 points, including four threes, while Orcutt chipped in with nine points and seven boards to go along with a career-high four assists in 20 minutes off the bench.
Morgan Kendrew paced three Judges in double figures with 13 points, while Samantha Anderson scored six points and tallied a game-high 11 rebounds.