CHICAGO – The University of Chicago women's basketball team opened their season on their home floor on Friday night in a matchup with the Carthage College Firebirds. In a game where both teams struggled to score, the Maroons leaned on their defense and a big second quarter give new Head Coach Michelle Gardner-Bilek her first career victory.

FINAL SCORE
Carthage – 48
UChicago – 58

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• It was clear from tipoff that points would be at a premium tonight at the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center, as both UChicago (1-0) and Carthage (0-1) shot just over 30 percent from the field in the opening quarter. In fact, it was the Firebirds who led 14-13 after 10 minutes of play.
• Trailing by 1 after the first, the Maroons' offense awoke in the second frame and began building a lead on the visitors. First-year Annabelle Spotts and junior Kate Gross both drained key triples late in the first half, and UChicago ended the stanza on an 8-0 run to stake themselves out to a 28-20 advantage at halftime.
• In the third quarter, the Maroons got the score differential as high as 13 points, yet to the Firebirds' credit, the visitors never allowed UChicago to completely pull away and rallied to cut the deficit to 6 points late in the frame.However, with 56 seconds left in the third, sophomore Paige Lim, who only appeared in 9 games last season due to injury, nailed a critical shot from beyond the arc to extend the Maroons' lead to 9 and eliminate Carthage's momentum. It was Lim's only basket of the night, but it was an important one, as it gave UChicago a 42-33 lead heading into the fourth.   
• In the final period, freshman Chris Sanders stepped up to seal the deal for the Maroons. The rookie guard logged all 7 of her points in the fourth quarter, including a downtown delivery that erased any hope of a Firebirds' comeback. Sanders' late-game efforts combined with consistent, steady play from seniors Sophia North (team-high 10 points) and Bella Alfaro (6 rebounds) paved the way to an opening night victory for UChicago as they knocked off Carthage 58-48. 

UCHICAGO STAT TRACKER
Points – Sophia North (10)
Rebounds – Bella Alfaro (6)
Assists – Kate Gross (3)
Steals – Bri Simpson (3)
Blocks – Kasi Samuda & Annabelle Spotts (1)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Maroons will hit the road for the first time on Tuesday, butwon't have to travel too far. They'll head to the corner of Foster and Kedzie in the Windy City to take on North Park University, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm CST. UChicago cruised by North Park 90-57 last season. 

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