PITTSBURGH – Senior guard Evy Iacono (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) broke her own school record set just weeks ago with 38 points, but the Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team lost a back-and-forth 82-76 thriller versus rival Carnegie Mellon University in the 2013 University Athletic Association opener on Saturday afternoon inside Skibo Gymnasium.
The setback snaps a five-game winning streak and drops the Spartans to 8-4 overall and 0-1 in the UAA. The win moves the Tartans to 9-3 and 1-0 in the Association.
Overall, the contest saw 17 lead changes and 10 ties.
Iacono increased her league-leading scoring average to 19.6 points per game as she topped her own single-game program scoring record of 37 points set in a quadruple overtime contest back on November 28 versus local rival John Carroll University.
Iacono, who tallied six three-point field goals, also recorded four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. In addition, senior point guard Erica Iafelice (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) scored five points and equaled her career high with nine assists, while sophomore guard Brooke Orcutt (Morrison, Colo./Dakota Ridge) posted nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.
The opening half saw the lead change hands 13 times with eight ties as neither team possessed more than a four-point advantage. Following a lay-up from Spartan senior center Emily Mueller (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) that gave the visitors a 28-24 lead with 5:40 left, the Tartans then closed the half with 16 of the next 25 points and led 40-37 at half. Individually, Iacono collected 17 points in the half on 7-of-13 shooting with a trio of threes.
In the second, the teams traded baskets before Case took a two-point lead, 49-47, on a put-back lay-up from Orcutt with 14:01 left. However, Carnegie Mellon's Gabrielle West put the hosts ahead for good on a three-pointer during the hosts' ensuing possession. Case was able to cut its deficit to two on several occasions including for the final time with 0:23 left on a trey from Iacono, but the Tartans knocked down all four free throws for the six-point victory.
For the game, West led four Tartans in double figures with 24 points, including seven threes, while Emily Peel finished with 19 points and a game-best 14 boards.
The Spartan women look to get back on the winning path when they open the first UAA road weekend of the year on Friday, January 11 at New York University. Tip-off in the Big Apple is set for 6:00 p.m.