Murphy Leads Tartans Past Franciscan, 63-37

(STEUBENVILLE, Ohio) - Sophomore Lisa Murphy (McLean, Va./McLean) tallied a season-high 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in leading the Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team to a 63-37 victory over non-conference opponent Franciscan University on Tuesday, January 27 in a rescheduled contest from earlier in January. The Tartans are now 11-5 overall as the Barons dropped to 7-10.

Murphy dominated the paint for the Tartans, scoring 15 points in the first half with five field goals and five free throws. She finished the game shooting 11-of-14 from the field and hit all 12 shots from the free throw line. The sophomore post also blocked five shots.

It was a back-and-forth game, with Franciscan leading 12-11 until 5:21 to go in the first half when Murphy started a 16-4 run that closed the half. The post scored 11 points during the run while senior Chandler Caufield (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) hit a three-pointer and a second jumper.

Murphy started the second half where she finished the first, scoring inside the paint on back-to-back possessions for the Tartans.

Junior Lindsay Poss (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) drained her second three-pointer of the game halfway through the period to give the Tartans a 25-point lead, 54-29, their largest of the game until junior Liza Otto (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) scored the last basket of the game for the 63-37 final.

To go with Murphy's 34 points, Poss tallied 10 points and grabbed seven boards. Freshman Zoe Zawisa (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) pulled down a career-high eight rebounds while Otto dished out five assists to go with seven points and five rebounds.

The Tartans continue the season on Friday, January 30 at ninth-ranked Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Tip is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.