In their final road trip of the season, the Maroons walked away with a pair of conference wins. On Friday, the team put together their most efficient offensive performance of the year on their way to upsetting No. 22 NYU. Then, on Sunday, Chicago made the short trip to Boston to take on Brandeis. The Maroon’s defense held strong in this contest, and the team earned a 63–50 victory and completed the season sweep of the Judges. With these results, the Maroons improved to 15–9 on the year.
In the first game, the team jumped out to a quick 6–0 lead. But the Violets fought back, going on a 10–2 run to finish the first period. Then, first-year Rachel West caught fire for the Maroons. The forward scored the team’s first 10 points of the second quarter, including two long-range bombs. As a whole, the squad finished the half strong and entered the break with a one-point lead.
In the second half, the Maroons relied on efficient shooting to keep the Violets at bay. The home team was never able to truly threaten Chicago at any point in the half. At the final whistle, the South Siders came out on top with a 76–64 victory. On the day, West scored a career-high 20 points while second-year guard Elizabeth Nye recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Overall, the squad shot 58 percent from the field, their highest mark of the season. The team also scored a remarkable 50 points in the paint.
On Sunday, the Maroons took on the Judges from Brandeis University. Unlike the game two days prior, this matchup was a low-scoring, defensive affair. Chicago locked down their opponents throughout the entirety of the contest. This was especially true in the first quarter when Brandeis was limited to just four points. Over the course of the afternoon, the squad forced 16 turnovers and held their opponents to 29 percent shooting.
After jumping out to an early lead, the Maroons remained ahead for the rest of the day. Five different Chicago players scored in double-digits, including fourth-year guard Caitlin Moore and third-year guard Stephanie Anderson. First-year forward Olariche Obi also surpassed this threshold and added nine rebounds to her stat line. As a whole, the Maroons were successful in capitalizing on turnovers and shooting from long-range.
“It was nice to get back-to-back wins over two very solid teams,” Nye said. “We have built up some good momentum and went into the NYU game with a lot of confidence. Given the way we played this weekend, we are expecting to finish the season strong. The Wash game is always intense so we will have to come in focused.”
Looking ahead to this weekend, the squad will play their final game of the season at home against the Bears from Wash U. This rivalry matchup marks the 63rd time that these two teams have faced off since their first meeting in 1980. On top of this, Wash U is currently ranked No. 9 in the country, so this is sure to be a high quality matchup. The teams tip off at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Ratner Athletics Center.
