CLEVELAND, Ohio – Junior guard Evy Iacono (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) and senior forward Erin Hollinger (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) scored 22 and 17 points, respectively, as the Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team picked up a 77-60 Seniors' Day victory versus Emory University (Ga.) on Sunday at Horsburgh Gymnasium.
The Spartans improve to 14-10 overall and 7-6 in the University Athletic Association heading into the final game of the season next Saturday, February 25 at Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) at 3:00 p.m. Emory drops to 17-8 and 8-6 in the Association.
Case, who will finish a fourth winning campaign in five seasons under Head Coach Jennifer Reimer, has already posted it highest win total under the head coach.
Prior to the game, CWRU honored its three women's basketball student-athletes – Hollinger and forwards Chelsea Peck (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic) and Sarah Milligan (Canton, Ohio/Canton McKinley).
Hollinger's 17 points were accompanied by eight rebounds and four assists. Junior point guard Erica Iafelice (North Canton, Ohio/Canton Hoover) also reached double-figures with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.
The Spartans led most of the way in the first half with advantages of 13-8 at the 13:46 mark and 24-18 at 9:34. Emory then chipped away over the duration of the period and grabbed a 38-37 lead as Misha Jackson hit the final bucket of the period with 30 seconds remaining.
In the second half, the two sides traded buckets before the Eagles jumped ahead by three when Melissa Koike nailed a triple to make the score 50-47 with 14:36 left to play. The Spartans regained the advantage two possessions later when Iacono drilled a three-pointer at 13:13, but Emory would again move ahead 55-53 with an O'dez Oraedu layup with 11:12 left to play.
From there, it was all Spartans as the hosts reeled off a 15-0 run that culminated in a Hollinger layup with 5:07 remaining. Emory's next points didn't come until the 4:38 mark – a scoreless span of 6:34. Case's lead reached a high of 19, at 76-57, when Iafelice hit two free throws with 1:26 left on the clock.
For the game, the Spartans held a 13-2 lead in second-chance points and an 18-5 advantage in bench scoring.