Tartans Fall Short on the Road at Baldwin Wallace

(BEREA, Ohio) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team traveled to Berea, Ohio, to face Ohio Athletic Conference opponent Baldwin Wallace College on Tuesday, January 6 and fell, 77-63. The loss is just the second of the season for the Tartans who are now 8-2, as the Yellowjackets advance to 9-3.

For the first 11 minutes of the game the score was tied four different times. Senior MacKenzie Boyd (Plano, Texas/Plano West) gave the Tartans their largest lead of the game, 18-12, with two straight baskets including a put-back layup off her own miss with 11:23 to go in the first half.

The Yellowjackets then scored five straight before junior Liza Otto (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) scored off a jumper in the paint, giving the Tartans a 20-17 advantage.

On the next possession, Shari Mangas drained a three-pointer that tied the game for the last time and sparked a 20-8 run for the home team to end the first half. During the run, the Yellowjackets hit four of their five first-half three-pointers and led by nine at the break.

The Tartans' and nation's leading scorer, sophomore Lisa Murphy (McLean, Va./McLean), was kept in check during the first half with only four points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field. However, she helped the Tartans shoot 50% for the game and finished with 18 points and four more field goals and six free throws in the second half.

The Yellowjackets pressured the Tartans into a season-high 26 turnovers and scored 19 points off them to extend their advantage in the second half and lead by double-digits most of the half.

Senior Chandler Caufield (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) nailed a three-pointer with 4:40 to go, bringing the Cardinal and Gray within eight points but the Yellowjackets scored four straight to squash the Tartans comeback attempt.

Junior Lindsay Poss (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds to record her third double-double of the season. Freshman Anna Novak (San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights) also scored in double-digits to record a career-high 10 points.

Dominance on the glass continued for the Tartans, who entered the game as the nation's leader in rebounding margin (+17.1), as they won the battle of the boards 36-24.

The Tartans open University Athletic Association play on Saturday, January 10 at home against Case Western Reserve University (6-5) at 3:00 p.m.