Case Western Reserve University junior forward Kara Hageman scored 25 points, and sophomore forward Hillary Hellmann added 21, but it was not enough for the Spartans, who dropped a hard-fought game to Baldwin Wallace University, 91-86, at Horsburgh Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
The Spartans fell to 2-2 on the year with the loss, while Baldwin Wallace improved to 2-0.
Hageman connected on seven-of-11 shots from the floor and all 11 of her free throw attempts while adding seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks on the day. It marked her third-straight game of 20 or more points.
Hellmann collected seven rebounds of her own and scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half, including a pair on a jumper to tie the game with time running out in regulation, but was one of five Spartans to foul out of the game, as foul trouble played a major role in the contest. Case Western Reserve was whistled for 32 fouls in the game, and 59 infractions were called for the two teams, combined.
Baldwin Wallace took an early lead in the game, jumping out to a six-point advantage, 14-8, with 3:13 left in the first quarter, before the Spartans closed the half on a 9-3 run to tie the score at 17-17 by the first break. Freshman Kendall McConico led the Spartans on the late quarter run, scoring on a layup and adding three on an and-one to tie the game at 15-15 with 39 seconds remaining in the first.
Hageman converted an and-one of her own early in the second to extend the Spartans' lead to 22-19 with 9:07 remaining in the half, but a 17-2 run midway through the quarter propelled Baldwin Wallace to its largest lead of the game, 43-32 with 1:20 left in the half. A three-pointer and a pair of free throws by freshman Alicia Marie Gonzales helped CWRU shrink the lead to seven, 44-37, by halftime. Hageman scored 15 of her 25 points in the first half to lead the Spartans.
The Yellow Jackets continued to lead until late in the third, when the Spartans tied the game at 59-59 on a layup by senior guard Jess McCoy with 38 seconds remaining in the period, and took the lead on a layup by Hellmann with five seconds remaining in the third. It was the Spartans' first lead since the 4:17 of the second period, as CWRU outscored Baldwin Wallace 24-15 in the third quarter.
The teams battled back and forth early in the final period of regulation, before a 9-0 run gave the Yellow Jackets a seven-point lead with 3:52 remaining, 76-69. Case Western Reserve would refuse to go away, despite losing four players in the quarter with five fouls, finishing regulation on a 10-3 run and tying the game with 33 seconds left on a jump shot by Hellmann. A last second shot by Baldwin Wallace's Syndey Clark missed, sending the game into overtime.
The teams traded baskets throughout overtime, with the Spartans taking an 86-85 lead with 1:29 remaining on a pair of free throws by Hageman. However, an and-one by Makenzie Colombo with 41 seconds remaining gave the Yellow Jackets the lead back, and three late free throws secured the win for Baldwin Wallace.
Tuesday's game marked the third-straight contest the Spartans have scored at least 80 points, the first time the team has done so since a three-game stretch during the 2002-03 season. Case Western Reserve shot 43.1% from the field in the game, and went 25-for-29 (86.2%) from the free throw line as a team.
Clark led the Yellow Jackets with 21 points, while Colombo kicked in 15, and Megan Schubert finished with a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Spartans will return to action after Thanksgiving, hosting Oberlin College at Horsburgh Gymnasium on Saturday, November 26th at 2:00 p.m.