Unlike many teams at Case Western Reserve University that boast large senior classes, the women’s basketball team carries just three seniors—yet those three leaders have shaped a culture that embodies what it means to be a CWRU student-athlete.

The Class of 2026—co-captains Emily Plachta, Maya Roberts and Emi Hutter-DeMarco—have been a cornerstone of CWRU’s women’s basketball program for the past four years, leaving a lasting mark on the program and securing their place in CWRU history.

Emily Plachta

Guard/forward Emily Plachta made an immediate impact for the Spartans during her first year. She started 24 of 25 games in her debut season and earned a spot on the Nan Nichols All-Tournament Team.

She carried that momentum into her second and third years, starting nearly every game and emerging as one of the team’s most consistent leaders. During her third-year campaign, she led the Spartans in scoring nine times, in rebounding four times and in assists three times. Her performance extended beyond the court as well, earning her selection to the CSC Academic All-District Team and UAA Winter All-Academic honors. This past weekend, Plachta also reached a major milestone as she surpassed 1,000 career points in a matchup against the University of Rochester.

Plachta credits much of her success to her teammates and the culture she embraced from the moment she arrived on campus.

“I am so grateful to have made the most wonderful friends through basketball here at Case,” Plachta said. “A lot of the success we achieve as a team can be attributed to how close we are. We have a lot of fun competing in games and practice, and everyone plays their best when they are having fun.”

As a civil engineering major, Plachta has had to balance a travel-heavy athletic demand with a high academic workload. While difficult, she found the balance she needed and relied on her passion for engineering to keep herself motivated.

“I knew I wanted to work on larger projects that have results you can see in real life,” Plachta said. “Civil is a broad area of focus that offers those larger projects that I was looking for. There are job opportunities almost anywhere you could think of, and the opportunity to work in a team environment was something really important to me. I also wanted a major that could give me a career where I could travel and have the opportunity to be somewhere other than a desk all day, which civil does.”

Off the court, Plachta is a member of Phi Mu at CWRU—something she never expected to join, but now considers one of the most rewarding parts of her college experience.

“I joined after hearing about how many of my teammates loved being involved with the chapter’s philanthropy and getting to know people outside of their major and basketball,” Plachta said. “It has definitely been a wonderful experience, and I have met so many amazing people through it.”

After graduation, Plachta plans to return home to Long Island to begin her career as a project engineer in New York. As her final season as a collegiate athlete comes to a close, she admits the emotions are mixed, but she’s embracing the moment and looking forward to what the future holds.

“It is definitely a hard topic to think about and something that hasn’t really hit me yet,” Plachta said. “I think any collegiate athlete will tell you it’s kind of weird to randomly stop playing a sport that has taken up so much of your life on a random Saturday. At the same time, I am excited to start work and sort of discover more hobbies outside of basketball as well.”

Maya Roberts

Fourth-year guard Maya Roberts’ collegiate career has been far from smooth. Hampered by injuries throughout her time with the Spartans, she has nonetheless found ways to leave her mark on the program.

In her third season, Roberts posted career highs with 7.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game, while adding three blocks and 13 steals. She shot a team-best 46.1% from the field, along with 14.3% from three-point range and 58.1% from the free-throw line. Roberts recorded seven double-figure scoring performances before her season was ultimately cut short due to injury.

“Growing up I used to watch all the basketball games with my dad and talk about how I wanted to be just like them,” Roberts said. “Obviously I’m not playing at [the University of Connecticut] like I thought I would be when I was in 5th grade, but just the fact that all my hard work, dedication, and sacrifices paid off and got me to where I wanted to be is such a rewarding feeling. Although I’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations with injuries through my four years here, I’m just really happy that I didn’t give up and 5th grade me would be so happy to know that I got myself to this point.”

Roberts will graduate this spring with a degree in nursing—widely regarded as one of the most rigorous and time-intensive programs at CWRU. She discovered her passion for nursing at a young age and is grateful that CWRU gave her the opportunity to pursue that calling while continuing to compete at a high level on the court.

“When I was younger I had to get surgery and I was extremely nervous. I was throwing up, hyperventilating, and overall just freaking out because of how scared I was to the point where they didn’t know if I was going to be able to have the surgery,” Roberts said. “But then I met this nurse who took the time to sit down with me and talk to me … This act of kindness for the nurse was probably a small part of her day, but made such a big impact on me. From then on I knew that I wanted to be like that nurse when I grew up. The patients we see are actively going through some of the hardest days of their lives, and I find it really meaningful that I could play a part in making it just a little bit better for them by going the extra mile.”

Roberts was selected as a team captain this season alongside her fellow fourth-years, a role she embraced with pride. She is grateful for the team’s close-knit environment and culture, as well as the opportunity to step into a leadership position during her final season.

“Being a captain has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my time here at Case,” Roberts said. “I’m excited to go to practice because I enjoy seeing my teammates and that’s one of my favorite parts of being an athlete. Regardless of what’s going on on the court, we always have each other’s backs and are there to support one another and it’s an honor to be able to lead to such amazing people.”

Roberts has accepted a position in a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit—the highest level of neonatal care—where she will provide specialized, 24/7 support for the most critically ill and premature newborns following graduation. While she is excited to begin this next chapter, she knows leaving her teammates and classmates will be bittersweet. Still, she remains deeply grateful for the time they’ve shared and the memories they’ve built together.

“The other seniors are my best friends. We’ve literally grown up together,” Roberts said. “Since day one we have had such a great friendship and I honestly don’t think I would’ve made it through these four years without them. They’re always there for me when I need them and I am guaranteed to laugh when I’m around them. Those two are stuck with me for life.”

Emi Hutter-DeMarco

Hutter-DeMarco has been playing basketball since she was seven years old, and for her, CWRU has always been a household name. Her grandfather, David Hutter, served as CWRU’s athletic director for 19 years and was inducted into the university’s Hall of Fame in 2010. Her family’s ties to the university run even deeper; her uncle played football for the Spartans and her mother also worked at CWRU, making her collegiate career a continuation of a proud family legacy.

“I had memories of my grandfather bringing my siblings and I to Veale and we would run around while he worked,” Hutter DeMarco said. “I reached out to [Head coach Jennifer] Reimer about coming to Case and ended up getting in with a great scholarship. I did a visit in September of my senior year and fell in love with the campus. Once I was accepted in, I decided to commit.”

Hutter-DeMarco is pursuing a degree in computer science with a minor in mathematics. Despite the demands of such a rigorous academic path, she has successfully found a balance between her work in the classroom and her commitment on the court.

“Since I knew I had practice or a game later in the day, I would be prepared and complete my work early so I could focus on basketball,” Hutter-DeMarco said. “My professors were very accommodating and understood I had to miss classes for UAA trips. CS and Math was the perfect fit for me, as I always excelled in math and science in school.”

Hutter-DeMarco is hesitant to leave basketball behind knowing how much the sport has shaped her life, but she is deeply grateful for all it has given her and looks ahead with excitement to the next chapter.

“It is scary to be a senior and leave behind basketball,” Hutter-DeMarco said. “It has been consistent throughout my life and taught me so many life skills such as discipline, resilience, and teamwork. It feels bittersweet, as I am sad to be ending my career, but excited for my next steps in life. It will be odd having so much free time on my hands, so I am excited to keep up with my other hobbies.”

Like Roberts and Plachta, Hutter-DeMarco deeply values the bond she shares with her fellow fourth-years and knows that what she’ll miss most is stepping onto the court alongside some of her closest friends.

“The greatest gift that this program has given me is my friendship with my fellow seniors,” Hutter DeMarco said. “We have been close since we first met our freshman year and the three of us have been living together since our sophomore year. They’re going to be my lifelong friends and I am so grateful to have them in my life.”