CLEVELAND – The University of Chicago women's basketball team grabbed a lead late in the first quarter and would not relinquish it the rest of the way in a 63-55 Friday night road win at Case Western Reserve University.

The Maroons improved to 9-7 overall and 2-4 in the University Athletic Association (UAA). The Spartans fell to 6-11, including 1-5 in UAA competitions.

Down 8-5 in the first quarter, UChicago clamped down defensively and held CWRU scoreless for the next five-and-a-half minutes. By the time the run ended, the Maroons were ahead 14-8. The visitors maintained their lead for the final 32 minutes of game time.

The Spartans battled back to draw within 16-14. However, an and-one layup by senior Klaire Steffens pushed the margin back out to five. Steffens tallied eight points in the quarter en route to 12 by halftime. Her three-pointer gave the Maroons a 25-16 advantage with three minutes left in the half. Sophomore Sophia North canned a trey of her own at 30-20 and UChicago headed to the locker room with a 30-22 advantage.

In the third quarter, the Maroons kept their lead firmly between eight and 12 points. It was junior Grace Hynes who picked up the offensive slack, scoring seven points in the period. Her jumper at 47-35 gave UChicago its largest lead of the night.

Then it was Mallory Brodnik's turn to close things out in the fourth. The junior forward shot 4-for-5 in the quarter with nine points.

CWRU chewed into UChicago cushion and was within one basket at 52-50 midway through the period. Brodnik responded with a pair of jumpers to ward off the comeback. The Maroons proved clutch, utilizing an 8-0 run as the Spartans were held scoreless for more than four minutes. With the lead secure, the visitors finished the game off at the free throw line and won by eight.

Hynes contributed in all facets with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Steffens paced the squad with 15 points and grabbed five rebounds. Brodnik tallied 11 points, and North recorded eight points and six rebounds off the bench.

UChicago shot 42.9 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from three-point range (4-18) and 52.4 percent from the free throw line (11-21). CWRU converted 35.0 percent of its field goals, 12.5 percent of its three-pointers (2-16) and 61.1 percent of its free throws (11-18).

The rebounding battle went to the Maroons by a 41-33 margin. UChicago's ball movement helped create a large disparity in the assists category (18-4). Turnovers were nearly even at 15-14.

NEXT GAME:

• Sunday, Jan. 30 @ 2:00 PM (ET) – UChicago at Carnegie Mellon University