No. 25 Tartans End NCAA Run in Sweet 16 Against #10 WashU

No. 25 Tartans End NCAA Run in Sweet 16 Against #10 WashU

(CRESTVIEW HILL, Ky.) – The 25th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team ran short on time and fell in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship sectional semifinal to 10th-ranked Washington University in St. Louis, 75-69, on Friday, March 11 at Thomas More College. The Tartans conclude their record-setting season with a 21-7 record.

The first quarter ended with back-to-back jumpers in the paint by junior Jackie Hudepohl (Saratoga, Calif./Lynbrook (Colgate)) to give the Tartans a 19-15 advantage after four ties and two lead changes.

The Tartans held their largest lead of 11 points with 1:45 to play in the second quarter and had a 33-26 halftime advantage after WashU ended the period with two made buckets. Hudepohl was 6-of-6 from the field for the half and tied with junior Lisa Murphy (McLean, Va./McLean) for the leading scorers of the half with 12 points each.

WashU came out of the locker room with a soft touch and scored 6-of-9 to take back the lead, 40-37, on a three-pointer from the top of the key by Zoe Vernon with five minutes running off the clock. During the stretch, the Tartans shot 2-of-9 from the floor with both baskets coming from senior Lindsay Poss (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville). The first bucket by Poss made her the 12th Tartan, and third this season, to score 1,000 career points.

The lead changed hands twice while the score was tied on three occasions through the final five minutes of the quarter with WashU holding a slim 48-46 lead at the final break.

The Tartans opened the fourth with three straight points to take back the lead but it was short lived as Amanda Martinez answered with a jumper to give the lead back to the Bears.

Again, the lead would swap hands nine times with the Tartans holding a 61-60 advantage following two free throws by sophomore Anna Novak (San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights) with 4:16 to play.

The Bears then went on an 8-0 run to grab their largest lead of the game, 68-61, before Hudepohl stopped it with a three-pointer from the wing with just under two minutes to play.

Senior Liza Otto (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) drained a jumper to pull the Tartans within two, 71-69, with 29 seconds to go but the Bears converted 4-of-4 from the free throw line to close out the game.

"It was a game of runs, runs, runs and we just ran out of time," said head coach Jacquie Hullah. "If there were five more minutes to play, maybe we would've won by two. But congratulations to WashU. We wish them luck in the next round and we'll be rooting for them."

Murphy led all scorers with 23 points while Hudepohl finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Otto closed her career with 11 points while Poss tallied nine and grabbed nine rebounds in the final game of her career.