The Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team picked up its first University Athletic Association win of the campaign on Sunday afternoon, defeating Brandeis University 57-49 at Auerbach Arena in Waltham, Massachusetts.

With the win, the Spartans improved to 6-8 overall and to 1-2 in league play, while Brandeis dropped to 0-3 in the conference and to 5-7 overall.

Sophomore forward Kayla Characklis led all Spartan players with 15 points and a season-high 12 rebounds on Sunday, marking her third double-double of the season. She finished the game shooting six-of-10 overall and three-of-three from the free throw line, while adding a pair of steals.

Also in double figures against Brandeis were junior guard/ forward Isabella Mills, who finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and senior guard/ forward Abbey Lawrence, who totaled 13 points and five rebounds in the game.

The Judges led by as many as nine points in the opening half of the game, going ahead 21-12 with 9:07 remaining in the second frame. But, Mills and Characklis each heated up in the second quarter, combining for 15 points during the period and allowing CWRU to take a 31-28 lead into halftime. Mills connected on two threes midway through the period that helped the Spartans turn a five-point deficit into a 22-21 lead over the Judges with 4:20 to play in the half. Brandeis took the lead back, 28-26, on a three with 1:39 left in the second quarter, but a three by junior guard McKenna Gross with 1:24 remaining and a jumper from Lawrence with 32 seconds to play gave the Spartans their three-point halftime lead.

The Spartans outscored the Judges 18-12 in the third quarter to add to their lead, and a layup by Lawrence with 33 seconds left in the third put CWRU ahead 49-40, giving the Spartans their largest lead of the game heading into the final period.

CWRU started the fourth quarter cold from the floor, as the Judges scored the first nine points of the frame, knotting the score at 49-49 with 5:35 left in the contest. However, the Spartans locked down on defense from that point forward, holding Brandeis scoreless the rest of the way. Characklis broke the tie with a layup with 4:01 left in the game, and Gross added a layup with 3:39 to play that extended the Spartans' lead to four. Lawrence and Characklis each converted a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the game to help the Spartans secure the win.

Rebounding proved to be a deciding factor in the contest, with the Spartans finishing the contest with a 53-40 edge on the boards. CWRU finished the game shooting 30.6% overall (22-of-72), including six-of-23 (26.1%) from behind the three-point line. The Spartans were also a perfect seven-of-seven from the free throw line on Sunday.

The Spartans will be back in action next weekend, returning home to Cleveland to begin a stretch of four-straight UAA home games. Case Western Reserve will begin its home stand against Emory on Friday, January 21 at 8:00 p.m.