Murphy, Poss lead Tartans to OT Win on the Road

(MARIETTA, Ohio) – The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team surrendered a two-point halftime lead before defeating Denison University 65-60 in overtime at the 30th Annual Jim Meagle Turkey Shoot hosted by Marietta College. The Tartans move to 6-1 on the season while Denison falls to 1-4.

Denison jumped out to a 9-0 lead before sophomore Lisa Murphy (McLean, Va./McLean) made the first Tartan basket of the game with a layup off an assist by junior Lindsay Poss (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville). Kellie Arter's third three-pointer then gave Denison a 15-2 lead with just 4:07 gone by.

The Tartans pulled the game to 15-12 behind six points from Murphy after more than a five-minute scoring drought by Denison.

The Big Red responded and another trey by Arter gave Denison a 22-16 lead with 7:30 to play in the half.

A 17-9 run at the end of the half gave the Tartans a 33-31 halftime lead. The Tartans took their first lead of the game, 32-31, when Murphy scored a layup off an assist by senior Chandler Caufield (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) with five seconds remaining in the period. Murphy then converted the free throw off the foul for the halftime score.

Murphy scored 15 points for the Tartans in the first half while Poss tallied 10.

The teams traded the lead six times in the second period with the Tartans regaining the lead 47-46 on a pair of free throws by freshman Anna Novak (San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights) with 7:32 to go. Two minutes later, Arter nailed another three-pointer to give the Big Red a 51-50 advantage. Six points by Murphy to close the half gave the Tartans a 56-54 edge before Gabrielle Nottage sent the game to overtime with a jumper with eight seconds to play.

Denison scored first in overtime on a layup by Arter but a layup by Murphy tied the game and three-pointer by freshman Njaire McKoy (Englewood Cliffs, N.J./Bergen County Tech./Peddie School) put the Tartans up for good 61-58 with 1:50 to go. Murphy scored another layup after two free throws by Denison and Novak made another pair of free throws to seal the 65-60 win.

Murphy finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds as Poss followed with 14 points and a season-high 14 rebounds.

Denison was led by Arter's 20 points and Jordan Holmes's 18 rebounds.

The Big Red held the Tartans to their lowest shooting percentage of the year at 38.5% but a point-in-the-paint advantage of 42-20 and 19 second-chance points helped the Tartans to their sixth victory of the year. The Tartans also held the advantage on the glass, 49-43, for the sixth time this season.

The win puts the Tartans in the championship game against Marietta (3-1) on Sunday, November 30 at 3:00 p.m.