The UR women’s basketball team had a sweet ending to their extended road trip last weekend, breaking their four-game losing streak. After a close loss at Case Western Reserve University on Friday, the Yellowjackets returned to form on Sunday and clobbered Emory University.
UR’s first stop in last weekend’s road trip was to the Case Western Spartans’ home court in Cleveland. The score remained close for the majority of the first half.
Sparked by three consecutive UR three-pointers – one from junior Jessie Graham and two from sophomore Jamie Mooney – the Yellowjackets surged ahead of the Spartans with a 18-4 run to end the first half.
UR shot 54.2 percent compared to Case Western’s 28.2 shooting percentage. The Yellowjackets also nailed four out of six three-pointers while the Spartans were unable to connect from behind the arc, missing all 12 three-point attempts. Going into the break, UR led Case Western 36-26.
Starting out the second half with an immediate three-pointer, the Spartans pressured UR offense and slowly chipped away at the UR lead.
Case Western pulled ahead of the Yellowjackets with two free throws at the 3:45 mark, and the Yellowjackets were never able to regain control.
Leading all scorers in the game was UR senior Ashley Latimer, who came off the bench against Case Western and scored a career-high 23 points. Latimer hit seven of 10 shots and sunk nine of her 12 free throws. Graham had a double-double for the night, with 11 rebounds and 10 points.
The loss to Case Western brought the Yellowjackets’ record to 8-8 overall and a 1-5 in the UAA.
After the game, the UR women showed their support for the men’s team and cheered them on while they defeated Case Western.
Both teams stayed in Cleveland Friday night, and flew to Atlanta on Saturday for their Sunday games against Emory.
However, Atlanta looked more like Rochester over the weekend, as an unusual winter storm in the southern United States had closed the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The UR teams had to reschedule their flights for 8:30 a.m. on Sunday – game day.
The Emory matches were pushed forward 90 minutes, moving the tip off time from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Arriving in the Atlanta airport only six hours earlier, the Yellowjackets quickly gathered themselves to face the Emory Eagles for the first time this season.
“We decided that we were going to dictate the game – our pace, our offensive – and that really propelled us into playing together as a team,” Latimer said. “We had lots of energy from everyone, which made all the difference.”
In the first few minutes, the Yellowjackets were off to a slow start and the Eagles took off to a 8-0 lead three minutes into the game.
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Two made free throws by sophomore Joy Sadaly started the UR comeback. Led by sophomore Emily Lyons – who had eight points in the first half – the
Yellowjackets worked their way back and ended the half ahead of the Eagles, 24-23.
After the break, it was apparent UR was just getting started. Not letting the exhaustion from winter travel affect their game, the team gained strength in the second half and extended their 1-point lead.
The second half began with a 7-0 run by the Yellowjackets , extending the lead to 31-23 at the 15:29 mark. But, it was defensively that UR dominated the Eagles – holding them to only 15% shooting in the second half and forcing 23 turnovers in the game. UR also had an impressive 17 steals for the game, including four from Lyons.
UR was able to hold the Eagles to only 13 points in the second half for a UR victory of 58-36.
“I think our game on Sunday was a big step forward for us and we are going to continue playing like we know how to,” sophomore Danielle Muller said.
The Yellowjackets were led by Muller, who put in a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, including eight offensive boards. Lyons, along with her four steals, had fifteen points. Sophomore Emily Bango had eight points and dished out seven assists to her teammates.
“On Sunday, we got a tremendous team effort from everyone and played inspired on the defensive end.” Head Coach Jim Scheible said. “Overall, it was a great team effort to get the win on the road.”
The Yellowjackets improved their record to 9-8 overall and 2-5 in the UAA.
Their next game is a rematch against Emory at home in the Palestra on Feb. 4.
McLean can be reached at amclean@campustimes.org.
