CHICAGO – A big-time second-quarter response and two stellar halves by junior Miranda Burt helped the No. 8 Univeristy of Chicago women's basketball team keep the edge in a tightly contested, 81-72 win over Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Sunday's Midway Classic finale.

Burt finished with a season-high 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor and was 3-of-6 from downtown to go along with four steals, three rebounds and an assist. One of her biggest plays came in the final 1:29, when her steal led to a Jamie Kockenmeister lay-in that put UChicago (4-0) up by seven, 75-68, and helped deny any chance of an MIT comeback.

Junior Taylor Lake added 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists and senior Olariche Obi notched her first double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds, adding three assists.

MIT (3-1) controlled the game early, outscoring the Maroons 19-13 in the first quarter en route to a 28-17 lead early in the second. The 3-point shot kept UChicago close, though, as Meaghan O'Hara's triple was the first to stop a 9-2 run by MIT, namely Christina Antonakakis, who made 7-of-9 of her first half attempts for 18 points.

First-year Elizabeth Shaw and Kockenmeister would later add crucial makes from downtown to keep UChicago within striking distance, and Burt's steal and ensuing fast-break lay-in cut MIT's lead to just two, at 33-31.

A Shaw layup and back-to-back buckets by Mia Farrell at last gave UChicago back the lead (37-35), before Burt's 3 with 23 seconds to go pushed the halftime lead to five, 40-35, and completed the host's 23-7 run to close the second period.

MIT made a run midway through the third quarter to retake the lead briefly at 50-49. But a Marissa Igunbor bucket and the foul helped UChicago regain the lead and the Maroons went into the fourth up, 58-55.

The Engineers, who made 10-of-19 shots from behind the arc, made several runs in the final frame and pulled within three, 68-65, with 4:20 remaining. But answers by UChicago's Obi (six points) and Lake (four points) kept the visitors at bay, before free throws (Burt 4-for-4 and Klaire Steffens 2-for-2) sealed the Maroons' fourth-straight victory.

O'Hara added nine points and Kockenmeister finished with eight points and five boards for UChicago, who finished the game 43.8 percent (28-of-64) from the field and 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from 3-point land.

Antonakakis scored 22 points to lead MIT, who finished 27-of-64 (42.2 percent) from the floor and made 52.6 percent of its 3-point attempts. The Engineers committed 20 turnovers compared to 13 for the Maroons, and UChicago held the rebounding edge, 39-35.

The Maroons also capitalized on points in the paint (32-14) and off turnovers (27-16) in the win.

NEXT GAME:

• Wednesday, Nov. 28: UChicago at Wheaton, 6 PM CT