CLEVELAND, OH – University of Rochester women's basketball opened the second half of University Athletic Association (UAA) play with a 53-42 loss to the Case Western Reserve University on Friday evening inside Horsburgh Gymnasium.
 
Neither the 'Jackets nor the Spartans could find their touch for much of the night, with UR shooting just 33.3 percent, while CWRU connected on just 30.4 percent of their shots. But the Spartans knocked down 11 threes on the night, while Rochester shot just 1-for-19 from beyond the arc.
 
Erin Lillis got the Yellowjackets on the scoreboard first with a driving layup just shy of the nine-minute mark of the first, but Lillis' layup would prove to be one of just two made field goals in the first quarter for UR, as the Spartans outscored the 'Jackets, 16-8 in the period.
 
Rochester shot just 2-for-13 in the opening period and 5-for-25 in the first half. Meanwhile, for CWRU, Mya Hartjes and Emily Plachta answered Lillis' layup with buckets of their own, with Plachta's layup giving the Spartans a 5-2 lead midway through the first.
 
Three free throws from Lillis over the next two possessions briefly tied the score at five-all with 4:17 left in the quarter, but back-to-back-to-back triples from Jordyn Call gave the Spartans a lead they'd never relinquish.
 
Call added another jumper to finish off an 11-0 run for the Spartans and give the hosts a 16-5 lead, before a late triple from Franki Gomez cut CWRU's lead to eight, 16-8, after one-quarter of play.
 
The 'Jackets quickly cut into that eight-point lead to start the second, answering Call's 11-0 barrage with an 8-2 run to start the second, highlighted by four straight from Tia Poulakidas to open the frame.
 
Two free throws from Annalise Dexter brought Rochester within two, 18-16, with 4:33 left in the first half, but the Spartans held UR without a bucket over the final four-plus minutes of the second, scoring the final six points of the period to take a 24-16 lead into the locker room.
 
Rochester would keep things close for much of the third, as the Spartans never led by more than 12. The 'Jackets cut CWRU's lead down to six with jumpers from Poulakidas and Drahos to start the third, before Lillis and Abby Gress' first points of the evening made it a five-point game, 29-24, with 5:46 left in the third.
 
However, Hartjes answered with a three to bring Case Western Reserve's lead back out to eight on the Spartans' ensuing possession and then broke a scoreless stretch for both sides with five-straight points to give the Spartans their largest lead of the night, 38-26, with 1:02 left in the third.
 
Another Hartjes three to beat the buzzer sent CWRU into the fourth up 11, 41-30, and though UR pulled within eight just shy of the fourth-minute mark, Call answered with another three, one of five on the night for the sophomore.
 
Despite Call's three though, Grace Corelli pulled UR back within nine, and after another stop, Lillis sank a jumper to make it a seven-point game, 49-42, with 2:52 left. However, UR came up empty on its next two offensive possessions, turning it over and missing twice at the rim, while Hartjes sank four free throws down the stretch to finish off the 53-42 victory.
 
With the win, CWRU moves to 7-12 (2-6 UAA) on the year, while the 'Jackets fall to 10-9 (3-5 UAA).
 
Lillis was the lone Yellowjacket in double figures, scoring 17 points, while Gress grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
 
For CWRU, Hartjes had 21 points and nine rebounds while Call scored 17, with the two combining to shoot 10-for-19 from beyond the arc.
 
The Yellowjackets will look to bounce back when they wrap up their weekend in Pittsburgh, PA with a matchup against Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 12:00 p.m.