CLEVELAND – The Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team went scoreless for a stretch of more than eight minutes in the first half en route to a 75-55 loss to the University of Rochester (N.Y.) in University Athletic Association action on Sunday afternoon at Horsburgh Gymnasium.
The Spartans (10-6, 2-3 UAA) drop their second-straight conference contest and will look to get back on track next Friday and Sunday, January 25-27 with a pair of games as part of Throwback Weekend at Horsburgh. Rochester (12-4, 4-1 UAA) stays tied for first in the Association.
Senior center Emily Mueller (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) led the Spartans with 12 points and four rebounds, while sophomore forward Berit Eppard (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) added 11 points and seven boards. Senior point guard Erica Iafelice (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) tallied eight boards and a game-high eight assists.
The Yellowjackets scored 18 points off 15 Spartan turnovers, while Case did not record a point off of nine Rochester miscues.
In the first half, Case held Rochester scoreless for the opening 4:10 and jumped out to a 6-0 lead when Mueller hit a jumper at the 17:00 mark. The Yellowjackets then came back with 28 of the next 32 points, including 23 in a row, and led 28-10 following an Ally Zywicki layup at 4:17. Overall, Rochester held the Spartans scoreless for 8:07 during the run. By halftime, the Yellowjacket lead would reach 20 as Paige Aleski hit a three-pointer to make the score 34-14 with 18 seconds remaining.
In the second stanza, the Spartans were unable to get closer than 19 until the final minute, and Rochester built its advantage to as many as 32 on two occasions.
For the game, the Yellowjackets were led by Aleski with a game-high 14 points, three rebounds and three assists. Three other U of R players scored in double figures, including Jackie Walker with 11.
Also of note, senior guard Evy Iacono (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) scored five points to move into fourth place on CWRU's all-time scoring list with 1,199 for her career. Iafelice moved into fifth place on the program's assist list with 335.
The Spartans open play next weekend versus the University of Chicago (Ill.) at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. That game, along with an 1:00 p.m. matchup on Sunday with Washington University-St. Louis, is designated as Case Western Reserve's eighth annual Throwback Weekend.
Both the Spartan men's and women's basketball teams will be wearing uniforms commemorating Western Reserve University (Red Cats), Case Institute of Technology (Rough Riders) and Mather College. WRU and CIT federated in 1967 to become Case Western Reserve University.