Fourth Quarter Run Sends #13 Tartans to 66-54 Victory Against Bethany

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The 13th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team ran its record to 8-0 with a 66-54 victory against Bethany College at home on Thursday, December 8. The Tartans used a fourth quarter run and a 25-point, 19-rebound effort from senior Lisa Murphy (McLean, Va./McLean) to upend the Bison who are now 3-5 for the year.

Senior Jackie Hudepohl (Saratoga, Calif./Lynbrook (Colgate)) also recorded a double-double for the Tartans with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Makayla Filiere (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton) added 10 points for her third double figure game of the year while sophomore Jenn Mayberger (Chesterfield, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) dished out a season-high six assists.

The Tartans made six of their first eight shots and held a 12-4 lead 4:38 into the game. They would lead 18-8 after a layup by Murphy with 1:10 to play in the first quarter before Bethany scored five straight to cut the deficit in half.

Both teams connected on just six field goals for the second quarter and Bethany pulled to within two points, 30-28, at the break when Hayley Holenka scored her 15th point of the half on a driving layup.

Bethany took its first lead since the first bucket of the game when Kelsea Daugherty scored on a fast break layup with 5:11 to play in the third quarter. A steal by Holenka on the next possession led to a three-pointer by Abby McDonald and the Bison held their largest lead of the game at 38-34.

Back-to-back layups by Murphy tied the game and a jumper by freshman Katharine Higgins (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) gave the Tartans back the lead but the Bison used a 7-2 run to close the quarter with a three-point advantage, 45-42, going into the final period.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Tartans who scored the first 13 points of the period with the first nine coming from the hands of Murphy inside the paint. After a layup by Holenka, junior Anna Novak (San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights) hit the only three-pointer of the game for the Tartans and Filiere followed with a jumper from the corner to give the Tartans their largest lead at 13 points with 4:26 to play. The Tartans converted seven straight shots from the field during that stretch and were 3-for-3 from the foul line.

Bethany couldn't recover from the Tartan run and the home team lead by double figures the rest of the game.

The Tartans made just 1-of-19 shots from long range but connected on all 13 free throw attempts while scoring 38 points in the paint. The rebounding advantage went to the Tartans who grabbed 56 boards to 32 for the Bison.

Holenka finished the game with 25 points for the Bison while Ashley Duthie scored 12 and Daugherty had 10.

The Tartans will next be in action on Monday, December 19 at Capital University for a 4:00 p.m. tip.