Team Effort Leads Tartans to 80-43 Season-Opening Victory

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team spread the floor with 21 assists on 31 baskets in its 80-43 season-opening victory against Wesley College on Friday night in the Carnegie Mellon/DoubleTree Classic. Three Tartans scored in double figures as the team led by 23 points at halftime.

Freshman Liza Otto (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) got off to a hot start, making 6-of-6 from the floor in the first half for 12 points while she grabbed seven boards, including three offensive, for the period.

The Tartans outrebounded the Wolverines by 17 for the first half which helped the home team jump out to the 23-point halftime lead. The Tartans had 12 second chance points and 12 points off six Wesley turnovers at the break.

Senior Emily Peel (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) scored nine of her team-high 20 points in the first half with a 7-for-8 performance from the free throw line. She went on to hit five additional baskets from the floor in the second period to finish 6-of-9 for the night. She also grabbed eight rebounds for the game.

Sophomore Gabrielle West (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) dropped in 18 points, hitting two of the Tartans six shots from behind the arc.

Otto finished with 12 points and eight rebounds to go with five assists. Freshman Lindsay Poss (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) hit four shots from the field to score eight points while grabbing 11 rebounds in her first collegiate start. Sophomore Chandler Caufield (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) led from the point guard position with five assists and zero turnovers with four rebounds and a steal.

The Wolverines were led by Jazmine Miller's 24 points on 11-of-24 shooting while Heather Fuller grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

The Tartans finished the game shooting 47.7% from the floor and 80% from the free throw line while grabbing 58 rebounds to the Wolverines 33.

Carnegie Mellon will continue action in the DoubleTree Classic with a home game on Saturday, November 17 against Otterbein University at 2:00 p.m.