Maroons Rally Late to Top Carnegie Mellon
The 18th-ranked University of Chicago women's basketball team erased a double-digit second-half deficit with a dominant fourth quarter to rally past Carnegie Mellon in another UAA road trip. The Maroons earned the win on the road to closeout the weekend slate 2-0.
After UChicago tied the score early at four, but the Tartans went on a scoring surge to take a six-point lead heading into the second quarter. The Maroons found ways to score but struggled to find their rhythm on defense. Carnegie Mellon took a double-digit lead late into the second after going on a 12-1 run. By halftime, they were up 40-31.
The third quarter saw the same struggles as before, and entering the final period of the game, UChicago trailed 51-41.
The Maroons opened the fourth with a fire and back-to-back layups by Kasi Samuda and Chris Sanders. As Annabelle Spotts entered the game at the 9:08 mark, she made her presence felt by laying in another quick two for UChicago. On the defensive side, the Maroons forced a Tartan turnover, and Spotts converted on an and-one to cut the lead to one. A few seconds later, the sophomore hit an up-and-under to give the Maroons their first lead of the game since the opening minutes.
UChicago held onto the lead from then on, outscoring the Tartans 20-7 in the final quarter. The Maroons' defense held Carnegie Mellon scoreless for more than five minutes in that final time.
Annabelle Spotts led all scorers with 16 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. The California native went 6-15 from the field and recorded 11 of her 16 points in the fourth. Sanders and Samuda also recorded double-digit performances, recording 13 and 10 points, respectively. Samuda led the rebounding for UChicago with 12, solidifying the junior's first double-double of the season.
Despite being down for most of the game, the Maroons shot 45.5% from the field and 30% from the three.