Four Score in Double Figures as Tartans Open UAA Play with 69-57 Win at Case Western Reserve

(CLEVELAND, Ohio) – The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team opened University Athletic Association (UAA) play with a 69-57 win at Case Western Reserve University on Saturday, January 6. The Tartans, now 9-3 and 1-0, used a second-quarter run and withstood a third-quarter run by the Spartans (3-8, 0-1) to win their third straight game on CWRU's home court.

The Tartans pushed a 22-17 lead with 4:07 to go in the second quarter to a 37-21 halftime lead. During the 15-4 run, the Tartans hit three triples in a row with sophomore Laurel Pereira (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) draining the first from the corner before junior Jenn Mayberger (Chesterfield, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) hit her second and third of the half with 1:24 left to play.

The Tartans only had two points off seven Spartan turnovers in the first quarter but capitalized on eight second-quarter miscues by the home team scoring 10 points with six coming in the end-of-half run by the Tartans.

Mayberger led all scorers at the break with nine points while Pereira, sophomore Makayla Filiere (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton), and sophomore Katharine Higgins (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) each had eight points. Pereira had four of the team's nine assists in the first half, while Filiere picked up four steals.

After the Tartans scored the first three points of the half, all coming off the fingertips of Pereira, the Spartans outscored the Tartans 21-7 for the remainder of the quarter to cut the deficit to seven. Hillary Hellmann led the Spartans with 10 points for the quarter and led all scorers with 18 points.

Filiere and sophomore Megan Jaeb (San Jose, Calif./Presentation) scored the first two buckets of the final period to extend the Tartan lead to 11 before the Spartans used six free throws and a three-pointer to battle back to within four points with 3:50 to play.

Filiere hit a jumper at the foul line with 2:18 to go to put the Cardinal and Gray ahead, 63-57, and the Tartans scored the final eight of the game to go on for the 69-57 victory.

Filiere and Higgins each scored 17 points for the Tartans while Higgins grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Pereira closed the game with 14 points and a career-best four assists, as Mayberger scored 12 points on a career-best four three-pointers. Filiere tied her career-high of six steals in the win.

The Tartans will continue play on the road at Emory University on Friday, January 12 at 6:00 p.m.