WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior guard Evy Iacono (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) scored a game-high 17 points and hit the go-ahead free throws in the final minute as the Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team earned its second-straight University Athletic Association road win by a score of 50-46 at Brandeis University on Sunday afternoon at Red Auerbach Arena.
Winners of seven-of-eight, the Spartans are now 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the UAA heading into the first conference home weekend of the season next Friday and Saturday, January 18-20. With the loss, the Judges dip to 7-7 and 1-2 in the Association.
Iacono, the UAA's leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, hit a pair of free throws to make the score 48-46 with 28 seconds left in the contest. In addition, sophomore forward Erin Reynolds (St. Louis, Mo./Webster Groves) off the bench and senior center Emily Mueller (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) each contributed eight points with seven and six rebounds, respectively, while senior guard Erica Iafelice (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) produced seven boards, seven assists and added four steals during the Spartan victory.
In the first half, Brandeis led 7-4 when Samantha Anderson completed a three-point play at the 17:26 mark. The Spartans then came back to tie the score three times before finally moving ahead 13-11 following a Reynolds jumper at 9:31. The Judges grabbed the lead once more at 15-14 when Niki Laskaris hit a triple at 6:45, but Case would end the half on a 12-3 run and led 26-18 as Reynolds hit a layup at the buzzer.
In the second half, the Spartan lead reached double digits when sophomore forward Berit Eppard (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) hit a layup to make the score 30-20 with 17:35 left to play. The advantage later reached as many as 11 when Reynolds scored another bucket to make the score 37-26 at 13:57, but Brandeis began to chip away and eventually used a 20-9 run to tie the score at 46 as Julie Scanlon scored a layup with 55 seconds left on the clock. Overall, the Judges held the Spartans scoreless for a span of 6:12.
However, Case took the following possession down the floor, and Iacono was able to get to the free throw line where she scored the eventual winning points. Hannah Cain missed the possible tying bucket for Brandeis with four ticks remaining. Sophomore forward Brooke Orcutt (Morrison, Colo./Dakota Ridge) grabbed the rebound and would miss a free throw attempt, but she followed with a steal to get back to the line to hit the two clinching free throws.
For the game, the Spartans held a 49-37 advantage on the boards. Brandeis was led by Anderson with 11 points.
The Spartans open next weekend on Friday evening versus Emory University (Ga.) at 6:00 p.m. at Horsburgh Gymnasium. The University of Rochester (N.Y.) then visits Cleveland on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Both games can be viewed live at http://tv.case.edu/athletics/ with Ron Jantz and Ed Daugherty on the call.