Behind a pair of 20-point scoring efforts, the Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team upset the 25th-ranked University of Rochester at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland on Friday night.
With the win, the Spartans improved to 14-7 overall and 5-5 in University Athletic Association play. The Yellowjackets fell to 14-7 and 4-6 in league contests. It is Case Western Reserve's first win over a ranked team since a 77-71 victory over #14 Chicago on January 19, 2020.
Senior guard/forward Isabella Mills paced CWRU, leading all players with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. It is the third double-double of the season for Mills and the 10th of her career. Junior forward Kayla Characklis scored a career-high 21 points and added nine rebounds, one shy of her third double-double of the season. Sophomore guard/forward Lucy Vanderbeck added 11 points off the bench.
After the teams traded three-pointers midway through the first quarter, the Spartans scored the next eight points to take a 17-10 lead. CWRU gained a 10-point advantage, 23-13, on a three-pointer by Vanderbeck with 2:36 left in the first period. A Vanderbeck layup with left than a minute left gave the hosts an 11-point lead, 27-16, which they took into the first break.
The Yellowjackets cut the deficit to five with an 8-2 run to start the second quarter. CWRU responded with five straight points, capped by a layup from Characklis, to regain a double digit advantage. After Rochester cut the lead to six, Case Western Reserve opened a 40-28 lead, its largest of the night to that point, with three-pointers by Vanderbeck and Mills with 3:43 left in the first half. Neither team scored for the remainder of the half, leaving the Spartans with a 12-point advantage going into the halftime break.
Following a Rochester basket to begin the second half, Mills made her fifth three-pointer of the game and Characklis added a jumper to give the Spartans a 15-point lead. A Characklis layup midway through the third quarter made the score 53-34 in favor of CWRU, a 19-point advantage, the team's largest of the game.
The visitors scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to eight. Junior forward Preet Gill ended the run with three points the hard way with 7:57 left in regulation, putting the Spartans ahead by 11. Rochester scored the next six points to make the score 63-58 midway through the fourth quarter. However, that would be the closest the Yellowjackets would get to the lead as Characklis ended the run with a three-point play and ignited a game-ending 15-2 run for the Spartans.
CWRU will host Emory on Sunday afternoon for their final home game of the 2022-23 season. Prior to the 1 p.m. tipoff, the team will honor its two senior members—Mills and Claire Poulton—as part of Senior Day.