Fourth Quarter Rally Falls Short for Tartans at Saint Vincent in Opener

(LATROBE, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team opened the season on the road against Saint Vincent College on Saturday, November 9, falling to the Bearcats, 63-62. Four Tartans reached double figures in scoring while two had double-doubles.

Sophomore Caityln Clendenin (Bethesda, Md. / Bethesda Chevy Chase) led the Tartans with 15 points and 10 rebounds while classmate Leah Weslock (Howell, Mich. / Howell) had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Makayla Filiere (Chandler, Ariz. / Hamilton) scored 10 points with five steals while senior Laurel Pereira (Naperville, Ill. / Naperville North) also had 10 points.

Saint Vincent held a 10-point lead at halftime after opening the game by shooting 43.8% in the first quarter. The Tartans improved from the field in the second quarter shooting 38.5% compared to 22.7% in the opening 10 minutes.

Pereira led the Tartans with seven points at halftime, with both her and Filiere draining a three-pointer apiece.

Clendenin poured in 11 of her 15 points in the third quarter as the Tartans cut the 10-point deficit to three points heading into the final frame. 

A three-pointer by Filiere with 7:06 to play gave the Tartans a 1-point advantage but the Bearcats took back the lead two possessions later on a layup by Madison Kollar. A 7-2 run by the home team stretched the lead to six-points, 59-53, with 3:05 to go.

The Tartans chipped away at the lead again and with 34 seconds to play took a 62-61 lead after a steal by Clendenin led to a layup by senior Katie Higgins (Montclair, N.J. / Montclair).

After a timeout by the Bearcats, Kollar connected on another layup for what ended up being the final bucket of the game as a jump shot by the Tartans fell short in the final seconds with Saint Vincent securing the rebound.

The Bearcats were led by Jenna Lafko's 17 points while Carlee Kilgus had 14 and Kollar 12.

Carnegie Mellon will next face Otterbein College on Friday, November 15 at 6:00 p.m. in the Washington and Jefferson Springhill Suites Tip-Off Tournament.