The Observer, March 3, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 19
Dempsey, Lady Spartans stay hot in win over Emory
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Case women's basketball head coach Jacki Windon could not have scripted a better Senior Day. First, the Spartans were able to cruise to a 65-46 victory on Sunday over Emory to take their record above .500 at 13-12. Second, Windon was able to give all of her seniors significant minutes in the game and help them reach personal milestones for their careers at Case. Finally, the Spartans take momentum into their 2006-2007 campaign with four straight UAA victories and an emerging team leader for next season in junior guard Dana Dempsey.
To begin the game, Case came out of the gate in a hurry. The Spartans outscored Emory, 13-2, in the first 7:40 to take control of the game. Case played stifling defense in the first half as they forced 12 turnovers and held Emory to just four field goals on just 12.9 percent shooting from the field. Case had eight steals in the opening stanza. On the offensive end, Dempsey continued her recent explosion as she had 12 of her 17 points in the opening stanza as Case led 28-13 at the half. With 5:18 remaining in the half, senior guard Amber Hammell hit a jumper to pass the 900-point barrier, which places her 10th on the all-time women's scoring list at Case.
Both teams picked up the pace offensively in the second half. However, the game was never in doubt as Emory never came closer than 16 points in the second half. Case took its largest lead of the game, 47-22 with 12:55 remaining in the game as Hammell hit a three-pointer off sophomore guard Mary Herendeen's assist. In her final game in a Spartan uniform, senior center Maria Rohrig scored five points and pulled down three rebounds. With two free throws with 3:00 remaining in the game, Rohrig hit triple digits as a scorer for Case.
For the second half, Case hit 11 of their 24 field goal attempts, including four of five from behind the three point arc, for 45.8 percent. Emory's offensive output was much better than their abysmal first half effort as they hit 13 of their 29 field goal attempts for 44.8 percent. Both teams struggled with turnovers as Case finished with 22 while Emory committed 20 of their own.
Spartan senior forward Andrea Haylett added 14 points and showed off a strong touch with outside jumpers in her career finale while fellow senior forward Carmen Rowan pulled down eight rebounds. Hammell finished the day with 13 points and was named first team All-UAA on Tuesday. Joining Hammell as an All-UAA performer was fellow backcourt partner Dempsey as an honorable mention selection.
The contributions of Hammell, Haylett, Rowan, and Rohrig were certainly admirable and appear to be the foundation for future achievements as Jacki Windon continues to build the women's basketball program after just her second year. The four-game UAA winning streak is a step in the right direction and the continued development of Dempsey (who averaged 18 points per game during the four-game winning streak) as a team leader is encouraging.
