Over winter break, the Case Western Reserve University men’s and women’s basketball teams continued playing through their schedule of games for the 2025-26 season. The men played a trio of games stretching from the end of December to this past Saturday, Jan. 10, while the women played four games over the same period of time.
Men’s Basketball
Fourth-year guard and co-captain Anand Dharmarajan scored a career-high 30 points as he led CWRU to a 97-80 triumph over Kalamazoo College at Horsburgh Gymnasium on Dec. 30. It was a near-perfect night from long range for Dharmarajan, who nailed seven three-pointers, accounting for much of the Spartans’s offensive firepower.
Graduate student guard Ethan Edwards also contributed to the offense with a season-high 15 points, displaying the depth of the Spartan backcourt. Fourth-year forward Andrew Fox added a dozen points while first-year forward Alex Vincent made his presence felt with nine rebounds and a career-best five blocks.
CWRU set the tone early during the game, holding a continuous lead over Kalamazoo through the entirety of the first half which culminated in a 50-35 advantage at halftime. This domination continued into the second half as the Spartans never let their lead over the Hornets fall to below 10 points, reaching as high as 23 points with under 13 minutes left in the period.
The Spartan domination continued into the next week as CWRU emerged triumphant over La Roche University 97-78 in a road game in Pittsburgh on Jan. 7. Edwards was nothing short of sensational in this game, pouring in a program-record nine three-pointers en route to a career-high 38 points scored during the match. Third-year forward Logan Brown also chipped into the Spartan offense with a career-high of 14 points, leading the team with eight rebounds and four assists. First-year guard Shyam Patel also made an impact off the bench with 11 points and six boards to his name.
This contest was a decidedly closer one for CWRU as both teams went back-and-forth for the lead during the first half. By halftime, the Spartans had taken an eight-point lead over the Redhawks; This lead was cut down to six within the first 30 seconds of the second half, but that would prove to be the closest La Roche would come to taking back the lead as CWRU’s momentum failed to halt during the period, culminating in a three-pointer by first-year forward Nitish Sankaranthi with 1:08 left in the period that put the Spartans ahead by 19 to conclude the contest.
The men’s team’s streak would come to a conclusion on Jan. 10, however, as the squad fell 69-87 to Carnegie Mellon University in their UAA opening match. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Spartans, putting their record for the season at 8-4 overall.
The Tartans set the tone early with a 9-0 run, forcing the Spartans into a deficit that they were unable to respond to until Vincent made a layup four minutes into the contest. CWRU kept up a hard fight throughout the period but was unable to make any significant dent in CMU’s lead—one that reached as high as 16 points upon the first half’s conclusion. The Spartans kept up a valiant effort during the second half, with Edwards scoring several shots in quick succession to put the Tartans’s lead at just nine points. CMU’s balanced attack and efficient shooting proved decisive, however, the Tartans rallied to an 18-point lead as the buzzer went off. At no point during the match did CMU fail to give up its lead over CWRU.
As the Spartans continue UAA competition, they face a demanding schedule but aim to bounce back from the CMU contest during their first home conference weekend of the season. CWRU welcomes No. 4-ranked University of Chicago on Friday, Jan. 16, before hosting No. 8-ranked Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday, Jan. 18, at Horsburgh Gymnasium.
Women’s Basketball
The winter break slate for the women’s basketball team began with the Baldwin Wallace Holiday Classic in Berea, Ohio. The first of CWRU’s two matches played in this tournament saw the squad achieve a 68-55 victory over Oberlin College on Dec. 29. This contest saw third-year guard Mya Hartjes score a career-high 25 points, hitting seven three-pointers on the way to her highest scoring game as a Spartan. Fourth-year guard/forward and co-captain Emily Plachta added 16 points of her own, while third-year forward Biz Watson also chipped in six points.
The game was notably close during the first quarter as both the Spartans and the Yeowomen went back-and-forth on possession and shots. With the start of the second quarter, however, came an offensive surge by CWRU that Oberlin was only able to keep up with for so long; after the Yeowomen tied the score at 27 each with less than four minutes to go, the Spartans responded quickly and took on a lead that Oberlin never overcame. After Hartjes connected on a three-pointer with 7:58 left in the game to push CWRU’s lead to 21, Oberlin would never come closer than 13 points to the Spartans before the game concluded.
The Spartans were unable to carry that momentum into their next matchup, the final game of the Holiday Classic, as CWRU fell 52-76 to host Baldwin Wallace University. CWRU struck first and held an early 11-0 lead before Baldwin Wallace responded with a decisive run to put themselves on top at the end of the first quarter. The two teams went back-and-forth for the lead over the next period, but by halftime the Yellow Jackets took a lead that would not be given up for the remainder of the match in spite of a valiant effort from the Spartans. By the match’s end, Hartjes and Plachta had led the Spartans with 16 points apiece. Meanwhile, third-year forward Maura Schorr finished the contest with six points, six rebounds and five steals—the latter stat matching her career best.
The Spartans turned things around in their next outing, a home matchup against Geneva College on Jan. 3, which also marked their final non-UAA contest of the season. CWRU achieved a 75-65 victory over Geneva in this contest, led by a career-high 25 points scored by Plachta. Hartjes also continued her strong scoring stretch with 18 points and eight rebounds during this game.
The Golden Tornadoes were the first to score, building up an 8-0 advantage over the Spartans within the first two minutes. CWRU was quick to respond, however, gradually eating away at Geneva’s advantage before taking the lead via a three-pointer from Plachta. After this point the two teams kept up the fight as the margin remained narrow, though the Spartans continuously maintained a lead during this time. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, CWRU started pulling further away from Geneva, extending their lead to as high as 12 points before closing out the 10-point win.
Concluding the winter break slate for the women’s squad was their UAA opener—like the men, against CMU in Pittsburgh. The Spartans ultimately emerged victorious at the game’s end with the score at 63-48. Hartjes led all scorers with 21 points, continuing her breakout stretch, while Plachta recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Third-year guard Jordyn Call scored 10 second-half points, while Schorr added eight points and 10 rebounds.
This contest proved to be a more decisive one for CWRU as the squad maintained a lead over Carnegie Mellon for the entirety of the contest. The Spartans were also sharp on the defensive end, holding the Tartans to a mere 10.5% shooting rate from three-point range and never letting their lead fall below double-digits from the second quarter onwards, at one point reaching a lead as high as 20 points on their way to the 15-point lead at the game’s end and a victory to kick off the UAA slate for the season.
Coming up next for the women’s team is a pair of home games at Horsburgh Gymnasium: The first is against No. 15-ranked UChicago on Jan. 16, followed by a game against No. 14-ranked WashU on Jan. 18.