Weslock Scores 17 as Tartans Fall in Championship Game of the Marriott Columbus Airport Holiday Tournament

Weslock Scores 17 as Tartans Fall in Championship Game of the Marriott Columbus Airport Holiday Tournament

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team played in the championship game of the 2018 Marriott Columbus Airport Holiday Tournament hosted by Capital University on Saturday afternoon and dropped a 71-42 contest to the host Crusaders. The Tartans end their non-conference slate with a 9-2 record while Capital moves to 8-4 overall.

Freshman Leah Weslock (Howell, Mich.) led the Tartans with 17 points after converting 7-of-13 from the field while classmate Caitlyn Clendenin (Bethesda, Md./Bethesda Chevy Chase) ended the game with eight points on Saturday. Clendenin was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 14 points per game and shot 53% (10-19) from the floor and 80% (8-10) from the foul line.

Seven of Weslock's points came in the first frame including a layup with 5:01 to play which tied the score at 9-9. The Crusaders then scored 12 straight points before junior Laurel Pereira (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) drained a triple for the Tartans with eight seconds to play in the quarter to make the score 21-12 at the first break.

Carnegie Mellon managed to score just six points in the second quarter, all by Clendenin, and trailed 34-18 at the break. The 18 points scored in the first half was the lowest of the season through the first 20 minutes for the Tartans.

Capital opened the first three minutes of the second half on a 10-2 run to extend its lead to 44-20. The Crusaders maintained control of the game as their lead never dipped below 20 points the rest of the way.

The Tartans were outscored in the paint, 28-14, where the Cardinal of Gray have been dominate this season averaging 30.9 points down low. Points off turnovers played a factor in the outcome, as Capital scored 25 points off 17 Tartan turnovers while Carnegie Mellon was only able to turn 16 Crusader mishaps into three points.

The Tartans will next be in action on Saturday, January 5 at 2:00 p.m. when they entertain Case Western Reserve University for the University Athletic Association (UAA) opener.