Tartans Victorious in Season-Opener, 75-47, Against Fredonia

(MEADVILLE, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team opened the season with a 75-47 victory against Fredonia State University of New York at the Allegheny College Greg Richards Memorial Classic on Friday, November 17. The Tartans and Blue Devils kicked off the four-game classic at 1 p.m. in the afternoon.

Leading the Tartans was sophomore Laurel Pereira (Naperville, Ill. / Naperville North) with a career-best 20 points. Fellow sophomores Katharine Higgins (Montclair, N.J. / Montclair) and Makayla Filiere (Chandler, Ariz. / Hamilton) also scored in double digits with 15 points apiece while freshman Kylie Huffman (California, Pa. / Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic) put in 11 points in her first outing in a Tartan uniform. Higgins also pulled down nine rebounds while Filiere grabbed a career-best seven boards and Pereira tied her career-best with five rebounds.

The Tartans led 23-10 after the first quarter behind nine points from Pereira. The sophomore guard put in seven straight during the quarter for the Tartans who held the Blue Devils without a point for the first three minutes of the game.

Higgins hit the last basket of the quarter for the Tartans and opened the second with another bucket on her way to 10 first-half points. The Tartans extended their 13-point first-quarter lead to a 19-point lead by the break, leading 40-21 at halftime.

Filiere owned the third quarter for the Tartans, converting two buckets and a free throw, for five of the team's 12 points.

The Tartans then hit nine shots and four free throws in the fourth quarter to finish the game with the 23-point win. Huffman scored nine points in the final period with sophomore Laura Oschner (Chester Springs, Pa. / Downingtown STEM Academy) putting in four points.

The Tartans assisted on 12 of their 30 baskets and shot 40.5% from the floor while holding the Blue Devils to 28.1% shooting from the field.

Next up for the Tartans is Allegheny on Saturday, November 18 at 3:00 p.m. in the same Greg Richards Memorial Classic.