In a repeat of last weekend’s games, the Chicago women’s basketball team once again will attempt to beat the other two top teams in the UAA. In an extraordinary pair of games over the weekend, Chicago took sole possession of the top of the UAA rankings by defeating No. 2 Emory and No. 7 Rochester. They are now on a 14-game winning streak.
The Maroons earned a comfortable 79–61 win over Emory on Friday. The game was very close at first, and Chicago finished the first half barely up 40–39. The visitors turned it on during the third quarter, however, with points from third-year Jamie Kockenmeister, third-year Olariche Obi, and second-years Miranda Burt and Mia Farrell, and the team went into the fourth quarter up 62–47. The Maroons could not be stopped for the rest of the game both offensively and defensively. Obi finished with 22 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Second-year Taylor Lake followed with 17 points, and Farrell had 14.
In the marquee matchup of the weekend, Chicago easily topped the Yellowjackets 74–59. Rochester started the night up 9–2, but the Maroons quickly snagged the lead back by going 13–12. Farrell earned six points in a row at the end of the second quarter to put her team up 32–26 going into the half. For the rest of the game, the Maroons maintained at least a 7-point lead to put them over the edge. Obi led the team in all stats with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and six steals. This was her 10th double-double of the season. Her back-to-back great outings earned her UAA Athlete of the Week honors. Farrell was right behind her with 16 points, and Lake followed with eight.
Burt is very excited about how the first half of conference went for the team. “We feel really great coming out of last weekend,” Burt said. “Our goal was to win every game the first half of UAAs in order to have a game up on everyone going into the second half of conference play. It was also especially nice to get most of our road trips out at the first half of conference, and now we don’t have to travel and get to play on our home court. Rochester and Emory are two of the toughest teams in our conference, and it is extremely hard to beat a team twice in a row. We have looked at the film and feel confident that we will make adjustments that will prepare us even better for the games this weekend. This weekend is huge in setting the tone for the back half of conference play.”
The Maroons will have an opportunity to solidify their spot at the top of the conference with repeat games against these teams at home this weekend. They will face off against Emory on Friday night and against Rochester Sunday afternoon.
