The Observer, February 29, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 19
Women's basketball beats CMU, falls to Rochester
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The Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team wrapped up their road games in the regular season over the weekend, falling to the University of Rochester but defeating rival Carnegie Mellon University.
In the Rochester game, the team was led by freshman guard Caitlin Henry, who ended up calling it "by far my best game of my college career." And rightfully so; Henry ended the game with a team-high and career-high 21-points. Unfortunately, the 17th-best team in the nation handed the Spartans their fourth straight University Athletic Association loss, 92-71, in Rochester, N.Y. Henry was a very good 7-of-12 from the field and even better from behind the arc, going 4-of-6 from long distance. The Spartans, as a team, knocked down a total of 12 three-point shots.
Case and Rochester began the game by trading well-executed three-pointers. Tough defense from the Spartans didn't stop Rochester from shooting long range. The Yellowjackets made six threes in the first 10 minutes, and jumped out to a commanding 30-16 lead in front of their home crowd. However, the Spartans hung in there and made some great plays of their own. Behind Henry's 12 first-half points, the team was able to cut the first-half deficit into 8 points, and went into the locker rooms down by a score of 45-37.
Yet Rochester came out blazing again, and got off to a 9-0 run, eventually taking a demanding 61-42 lead barely five minutes into the second half. The Spartans would get no closer than 18 points in the last 10 minutes. Senior Ashley Horton blamed poor rebounding for the turnaround after the half. "They weren't necessarily executing better, it's just that they had many more chances than we did because of their job on the boards." The Spartans had four players in double figures, with sophomore guard Ashleigh Tondo, Horton and senior guard Mary Herendeen adding 20, 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Horton recorded her 11th double-double of the season in the second game of the weekend, as her Spartans overcame a tough crowd in Pittsburgh and defeated Carnegie Mellon University 63-49 on Sunday in another UAA matchup. Horton finished with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Henry again led Case, with her second strong game of the weekend. "I am so happy that my teammates have trust in me. As a freshman, that truly means a lot to me." She showed it, by tacking up a total of 13 points in the first half on perfect shooting from the field. Henry put the Spartans up by 10, 18-8, with a three-point play early into the game. With a three-pointer just midway through the first half, the Spartans took a 23-10 lead, and seemed to have the momentum early. The Spartans carried a nine-point advantage into the half, and easily dominated the boards on both ends.
After the Tartans cut the lead to six early in the second half, Herendeen brought the Case lead back, hitting a three-pointer to put the Spartans up 51-39. The strong play of the forwards inside, and the "dominant Horton all around," as coach Reimer put it, allowed for the Spartans to hand the Tartans their 13th straight loss. Tondo finished the game with a full stats sheet, including team-high 18-points.
The Spartans wrap up UAA play in their last regular season game versus Emory Saturday at 2 p.m.
