Starting off the bulk of their University Athletic Association schedule, the UR basketball team faced tough competition this past weekend against league rivals – the Washington University in St. Louis Bears and the University of Chicago Maroons.
On Friday night, the Yellowjackets took on the Bears in UR’s first UAA game in the Palestra. Starting off with an early 8-2 run, Washington made UR fight back before the Yellowjackets took a 28-25 lead to end the first half.
After the break, Washington went on a 12-0 run, leaving UR scoreless until sophomore Catherine Adams sank a jumper with 13:43 left in the second half.
Not to be discouraged, the Yellowjackets fought back with two consecutive buckets by senior forward Megan Fish and the sharpshooting of junior Jessie Graham.
Sophomores Danielle Muller and Megan Krebbeks pulled through on the charity line, nailing all of their free throws.
The Yellowjackets managed to get within four points with under three minutes left. Washington extended the lead in the final minutes by hitting nine of 11 from the free throw line.
Graham led the Yellowjackets in scoring and rebounds with 15 points and six boards. Fish also contributed double figures with 13 points.
After one day of rest, UR arrived in the Palestra on Sunday to face Chicago, an undefeated team in the UAA.
In an intense matchup that resulted in the Yellowjackets’ first overtime game of the season, UR lost 82-74, giving the Maroons their second overtime victory of the season.
With five ties and five lead changes, it was an exciting, back-and-forth first half for both teams.
UR narrowed the lead with consecutive jumpers from sophomore Emily Lyons, three-pointers from Graham and sophomore Joy Sadaly and a layup from Fish, resulting in an eight-point lead over the Maroons.
With the score at 21-13, and under nine minutes left in the first half, UR had their largest lead of the game. After two more lead changes, UR got the lead back to end the first half at 35-33.
After the break, two free throws by Muller sent the Yellowjackets ahead by four points. Chicago then snapped back with a quick three-pointer and jumper to pull into the lead at the 16-minute mark.
For the next three minutes of the game, UR and Chicago went shot for shot, exchanging the one-point lead seven times.
The Yellowjackets’ final advantage of the half lasted for a minute, leading Chicago 43-42 with over 12 minutes left in the game. A Chicago three-pointer following a timeout brought the score to 43-45.
Chicago maintained control of the lead for the rest of the half, pulling as far away as nine points with only five and a half minutes remaining in the game.
The Yellowjackets started a comeback – with points from sophomores Emily Bango, Krebbeks, Lyons and Muller – bringing UR to within two points of the Maroons.
After two UR timeouts, a jumper from Fish tied the game with one minute remaining. A free throw by Chicago put UR down by one with 39 seconds remaining.
UR fouled Chicago, sending them to the line where the Chicago player missed the front end of a one-and-one attempt.
Graham pulled down the rebound and sent UR down the court with only ten seconds on the clock. After a missed layup attempt by Graham in the final seconds, Sadaly hit the boards for the rebound and drew a foul with one second remaining.
Sadaly missed the first free throw but gathered herself and nailed the second to tie it up at 67 apiece, sending the game into overtime.
In the first minute of overtime, Chicago sank two free throws. Muller then sank two jumpers for UR, one to tie the game and the other to take the lead.
In their final advantage of the game, the Yellowjackets led the Maroons 71-70 with a little over three minutes left in overtime.
After the ninth tie of the game, Chicago, who had overtime experience earlier this season, took control at the 1:49 mark.
Muller led UR in scoring with a career record of 17 points and Lyons had 15 points. Fish also had 15 points, Graham contributed 10 points and both led UR in rebounds with nine apiece.
The 82-74 loss to Chicago was UR’s second consecutive loss in the UAA, bringing them to a 1-4 UAA record and an 8-7 overall record.
The UAA is a highly competitive league, and UR is still confident in their ability to match up with any team they face.
“None of the games we have lost have been blowouts,” Fish said. “We’ve been in each game but just have struggled to end on top.”
“This season is far from over, and we have yet to accomplish what we are capable of. There is still time to do everything we want.”
The Yellowjackets know that the last few weeks of the schedule will be tough, but they are preparing for the challenges.
“We all have been working extremely hard in practice and pushing each other to become better every day,” Muller said. “We have already proven that we can hang with the best, but now we just need to prove that we are the best.”
The Yellowjackets are on the road this week, traveling to Case Western Reserve University and Emory University.
The team’s next home game in the Palestra is Feb. 4 against visiting Emory.
McLean can be reached at amclean@campustimes.org.
