The Spartans lost both matchups this weekend by a combined point total of four points.

The Case Western Reserve University squad went out on the road this weekend and battled the Emory Eagles and the Rochester Yellowjackets to within seconds of victory. The pair of losses set the Spartans at 1-4 on the season against the University Athletic Association (UAA) and at 7-8 on the season.

The Spartans started the first weekend of a two-weekend road trip in Atlanta where they went head to head against the Eagles on Friday night. The Spartans were led by the offensive prowess of senior wing Brooke Orcutt and junior Laura Mummey who combined to put 36 points on the board. Jessica McCoy added 11 points of her own to go with Orcutt’s 18 and Mummey’s 18 to put three Spartans in double digit scoring.

Despite the strong shooting, the Spartans were unable to take control of the game as the Emory forwards bullied the Spartans on the glass pulling down 14 offensive rebounds. Furthermore the Spartans were unable to hold onto the ball and turned it over a problematic, 23 times.

The Spartans looked strong leading by as many as 10 late in the first half. The squad grabbed the lead at the 2:25 mark when Mummey hit a jumper to extend the lead to double digits. However the Spartans saw their lead slip away heading into the locker room for the half. After 11 lead changes in the second half of play, they saw Emory grab the win when the Spartan’s final shot was off target as time expired. As the final shot sailed off the mark, Emory came out ahead, by a score of 65-62.

The Spartans returned to the hardwood on Sunday after heading north to face off against the University of Rochester’s Yellowjackets. After the heartbreaker on Friday, the Spartans looking to claim their second win in UAA. The victory proved elusive however as the Spartans dropped a second straight heartbreaker.

The Case Western squad was once again led on the offensive end by Mummey who put up a game high 20 points and pulled down nine off the glass. Aiding Mummey to spark the offense again, was Orcutt who only put up four points but had 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Senior Berit Eppard added 14 points of her own with a strong showing on both ends.

The Spartans the heartbreaking loss was even harder to bear as CWRU saw a 17-point lead slip through their fingers.

The Spartans started the game very strong and jumped ahead in the first half on an 8-0 run once again capped by a Mummey bucket. The Spartans held onto their lead heading into the half and when they returned from the locker room they were up 34-25.

The Spartans came out of the gates flying as they built their way to a 17-point lead. However the Spartans once again hurt themselves by giving up 13 turnovers in the game.

The Yellowjackets capitalized on the turnovers and refused to go away as they chipped into the 17-point lead, aided by 21 points from their bench.

The Spartan shooting dried up and Rochester scored the final eight points of the match-up to eek out a single digit lead, and the 55-54 victory.

The Spartans will head back out on the road as they attempt to capture their elusive second UAA win. The team will be hard pressed to do so however as they will be going up against the previously undefeated Washington University in St. Louis Bears in the second game of the weekend. The Spartans will start the stint away from campus against the University of Chicago Maroons on Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.