ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Washington (Mo.) held off a hot-shooting Case Western team for an 80-67 win against the Spartans on Friday night to claim the Bears’ 20th University Athletic Association (UAA) championship.
Washington U. improved to 21-2 overall and 11-1 in the UAA with the win, while Case dropped to 9-14 overall and 3-9 in conference play. Chicago, who entered the night two games behind Washington U. in the UAA standings, suffered an 84-77 loss to Carnegie Mellon to give Washington U. the outright league title. The Bears host Carnegie Mellon (12-11, 3-9 UAA) on Senior Day.
Case pulled to within six twice in the first half, but back-to-back baskets by senior forward Jordan Rettig made it 28-18 in favor of the Bears with 7:03 remaining in the half. Washington U. continued to extend its lead, taking its largest of the half (46-28) on a steal and layup by Alyssa Johanson with 1:14 to play, before heading to the locker room with a 47-31 halftime lead.
The Spartans’ ninth three-pointer of the game brought them to within 65-58 with 6:22 left. Washington U. went on a 7-1 run to make it a double-digit lead again (72-59) with 3:56 on the clock. A fastbreak layup by Case made it 76-67 in favor of Washington U. with 1:26 left. Johanson made a basket late in the shot clock, then sunk both free throws after a steal by junior guard Maddy Scheppers to seal the win for the Bears.
