By Edward L. Master

Allied News Sports Correspondent

GROVE CITY — Somehow the chill of night-time air found its way into the shooting touch of the Grove City College women’s basketball team.

Ashleigh Tondo scored 17 points as Case Western Reserve stopped Grove City 55-43 in NCAA Division III women’s basketball Wednesday at the Grove City College Arena.

Tondo sank four field goals, including a pair of three-pointers, and converted seven of eight free throws to pace the Spartans (3-3). Teammates Ashley Horton and Beth Andrasik joined Tondo in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Horton also pulled down 13 rebounds.

Raeann Szelong was the top scorer for the Wolverines (2-2) with 11 points, shooting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Szelong was the lone player in double-digit scoring for Grove City.

The Spartans shot 20 for 59 (34 percent) from the field, while the Wolverines managed 17 baskets on 63 shots (27 percent).

Case Western grabbed the early 4-0 lead on Horton’s back-to-back hoops. Grove City drew even at 8-8 on Christine Slater’s three near the 13-minute mark but trailed 23-15 with six minutes remaining in the half.

The Wolverines tied the contest at 23-23 with 2:46 left to play in the opening half on Brittany Anderson’s foul shot that capped an 8-0 run.

However, the momentum shifted to the Spartans as Horton scored twice and Case Western entered the intermission with a 29-25 margin.

“We had a nice, little run near the end of the first half, but we had very bad execution in the last two minutes,” said Grove City head coach Sarah Harris. “We gave them the ball and very easy chances to score, which was not the momentum that we wanted going into half time.

“You are not going to win basketball games with nice, little spurts — it has to be a sustained 40-minute effort.”

To open the second 20 minutes of action, the Spartans increased their lead to 34-27 when Horton responded with a three-point play as Krista Beechy fouled her in the process of making a basket.

The Wolverines then rallied to cut the margin to 38-35, but a 9-0 burst put Case Western in front 47-35 near the 7:00 mark. The Spartans maintained the double-digit margin for the rest of the game.