ATLANTA – Senior point guard Erica Iafelice (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) recorded 15 points on a perfect shooting performance with seven rebounds and three assists, but the Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team dropped an overtime heartbreaker by a score of 62-61 at No. 21 nationally-ranked Emory University during University Athletic Association action on Friday inside the Woodruff PE Center.
With the loss, the Spartans slip to 15-8 overall and 7-5 in the UAA. With the victory, the Eagles, No. 21 in the latest D3Hoops.com national poll, improve to 20-3 and 10-2 in the Association.
Iafelice shot 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from beyond the three-point line. The senior captain also tied the program's all-time career assist record of 364, held by Jeanne Scott.
In addition, senior guard Evy Iacono (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) scored 15 points, while sophomore forward Brooke Orcutt (Morrison, Colo./Dakota Ridge) added 13 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Of note, senior center Emily Mueller (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) chipped in with eight points, eight caroms and a team-best four blocks to run her career total to 107.
In the first half, Emory jumped out to an eight-point lead, 14-6, following a Hannah Lilly jumper with 12:38 left in the half. Case responded with an 8-2 run and cut the deficit to three, 16-13, via a layup from Mueller at 9:46. The Eagle advantage grew to five on multiple occasions, but the Spartans outscored the hosts by an 8-5 tally over the last 5:43 of the half, including a pair of free throws from freshman forward Laura Mummey (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) just before the break to cut the deficit to 29-27.
The teams swapped points in the opening minutes of the second stanza before the Spartans went on a 11-4 run keyed by two three balls from Iacono that gave Case a five-point edge, 42-37, with 9:51 on the clock. Over the next three minutes, Emory responded with a 7-2 run capped off by a layup from Selena Castillo that tied the game at 44 with 6:53 left.
During the ensuing minutes, neither team could pull away, but Emory grabbed a three-point advantage, 52-49, with 1:21 left on a pair of charity tosses from Hannah Lilly. After both teams exchanged empty possessions, Case called a time out with 25 ticks left. Following a pair of missed field goal attempts, sophomore forward Berit Eppard (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) grabbed her own miss and set up Orcutt's game-tying three as time expired in regulation.
In the overtime session, Case converted a pair of threes from Iafelice and Orcutt on its opening two possessions to lead 58-52. However, the Eagles responded with an 8-0 run of their own covering 2:23 of action capped off by a layup from Ilene Tsao to make the score 60-58 with 1:30 left in the extra session.
On the ensuing Case possession, Orcutt knocked down her third triple of the contest, giving the Spartans a one-point advantage with just over one minute left. Following a Spartan turnover, Lilly gave Emory the lead for good on a fastbreak layup with 18 seconds left as the visitors failed to get a shot off before the final horn sounded.
Savannah Morgan led Emory with a game-high 16 points to go along with seven assists, while Danielle Landry added 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Spartans will now travel to upstate New York and battle the University of Rochester for their final road contest of the season on Sunday, February 17 at 2:00 p.m.