Tartans Fall 67-56 at Brandeis

(WALTHAM, Mass.) – The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team traveled to Waltham, Mass. to play Brandeis University Sunday, January 29 and loss 67-56 in University Athletic Association competition.  The Tartans are now 7-11, 1-6 while Brandeis is 8-10, 1-6.

The Tartans fell behind 13-5 in the first four minutes of play, but their three-point shooting, 5-7 to start the contest, pulled the Cardinal and Gray right back.  Carnegie Mellon used an 8-1 run to cut into Brandeis' lead before freshman Gabrielle West's (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) long ball knotted the contest at 18-18 with 11 minutes to play in the half.

West gave the Tartans their first lead of the game, 21-20, on a trey, but the lead was one that the visitor's didn't hold for long.  Brandeis used a 9-2 run over the 2:46 to reclaim the lead and take a 36-28 lead into the locker room.

Brandeis opened its lead to 43-30 in the first 3:33 of play in the second half.  Tartan freshman Aspen McKeever (Durango, Colo./Durango) cut the lead to 52-45 after hitting a three-pointer with ten minutes to play in the contest.

Over  the next six minutes of play, the home team scored 11 straight points extending its lead to 63-45 and held on for the 67-56 victory. For the game, Brandeis shot 40% from the floor to Carnegie Mellon's 31%

Senior Jennifer Larsen (Exeter, N.H./Exeter) led the Tartans with a season-high 13 points while McKeever ended with nine.  Junior Emily Peel (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss

Brandeis was led by Morgan Kendrew's 22 points while Diana Cincotta and Hannah Cain had 13 and 12, respectively.

Carnegie Mellon next plays New York University on Friday, February 3 at 6:00 p.m. in Skibo Gymnasium.