Late Second-Half Run Propels Tartans Past Rochester, 68-57

Late Second-Half Run Propels Tartans Past Rochester, 68-57

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team used a second-half run to defeat the University of Rochester on the road in University Athletic Association (UAA) action, 68-57, Friday, January 23. The Tartans even their UAA record at 2-2 and move to 10-4 overall as the Yellowjackets fall to 9-6 and 1-3.

Down by two with seven minutes to play, the Tartans used six straight to take the lead and never looked back even as Rochester's Ally Zywicki hit a three-pointer to stop their run and pull the Yellowjackets within one, 48-47.

Sophomore Lisa Murphy (McLean, Va./McLean) scored 13 of her season-high tying 29 points in the final seven minutes, with nine coming from the charity stripe where she was a perfect 13-of-13 for the night. The Tartans maintained the lead down the stretch by making 8-of-10 from the line in the last 1:18.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with the score knotted at 23-23 at the break. Murphy led all scorers with 12 points, making five baskets from the field.

The Tartans defense forced the Yellowjackets to take outside shots, as the home team launced 24 from behind the arc, making just six, for the contest.

In the end, a 45-42 rebounding edge to the Tartans and a 20-of-26 performance from the free throw line balanced out an off shooting night, as Carnegie Mellon shot under 40% for the fourth straight game, despite entering the contest with a .433 percentage.

Junior Lindsay Poss (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) also scored in double figures with 11 points while assisting on four baskets and picking up three steals as the team recorded a season-high 11 takeaways for the game.

The Tartans will now travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to face the Emory University Eagles at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 25. The Eagles pulled out their first UAA win against Case Western Reserve University on Friday by a 65-62 score.