45 Bench Points Provide Spark as UChicago Rolls Past Rose-Hulman
The University of Chicago women's basketball team defeated the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers in a statement win on Saturday afternoon.
UChicago came out firing from both sides of the ball as Annabelle Spotts converted on a putback layup to open up the scoring for the Maroons, and Caroline Workman found Kasi Samuda on the ensuing possession to power the Maroons to an early 9-0 lead in the first four minutes of the quarter.
The Maroons' defense held tight as they held the Fightin' Engineers to just six points on 2-16 shooting in the first quarter.
To open the second quarter, the Maroons added a steal and a fastbreak three from the corner by Ruqui Lui to give the team its biggest lead of the game at 19. UChicago never took their foot off the gas pedal, forcing the Fightin' Engineers to take quick shots that held them to shooting 44.2% in the second half. The defensive pressure forced Rose-Hulman into 13 total turnovers throughout the afternoon. On the offensive side, the Maroons converted the 13 turnovers into 20 points.
UChicago closed the game on a strong note, outscoring the Fightin' Engineers 26-14 in the final minutes of the fourth as they pushed the margin to 34 for their second-biggest win of the season.
Offensively, ten different Maroons found the scoresheet as the UChicago bench played a major role with 45 of the team's 85 points. The Maroons also had three players tally career highs in the win as Caroline Workman and Karen Xin finished the game with 16 points and Ruiqi Liu added a collegiate best with 10 points off the bench. Sophomore Annabelle Spotts nearly posted a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, as Kasi Samuda pulled down a team-high 10 boards.
With the win, the Maroons improve to 4-1 on the season.