Tartans Drop Home UAA Contest to #14 Chicago

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team hosted 14th-ranked University of Chicago in University Athletic Association (UAA) action on Friday, January 17. The Maroons withstood a tough defense by the Tartans to win 52-38 and move to 11-2 overall and 2-0 in the UAA with the Tartans now at 7-6 overall and 0-2.

The Tartans were led by sophomore Caitlyn Clendenin's (Bethesda, Md. / Bethesda Chevy Chase) third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Makayla Filiere (Chandler, Ariz. / Hamilton) also scored 11 points while senior Katie Higgins (Montclair, N.J. / Montclair) led the defense with five steals.

Despite shooting 50.0% from the floor in the first quarter, the Maroons only held a 15-11 lead after turning the ball over six times leading to six Tartan points. The Tartans shot 29.4% from the floor and held a 9-6 lead after a layup by sophomore Leah Weslock (Howell, Mich. / Howell) with 4:19 to play in the quarter.

The Maroons scored the final bucket of the first quarter and the next three to take a 21-11 lead prompting a Tartan timeout. The teams traded baskets the remainder of the period with Filiere connecting on a driving layup as time expired to make the score 31-21 in favor of the visitors.

Neither team had the scoring touch in the third period with the Tartans scoring 10 points and the Maroons 8.

It was a high turnover game with both teams coughing up the ball 21 times apiece but the Maroons prevailed finishing the game with a 37.0% performance from the floor to the Tartans' performance of 26.3%.

The Maroons were led by freshman Grace Hynes' 14 points with senior Taylor Lake scoring 13 points and senior Miranda Burt scoring 11 points. Sophomore Klaire Steffens pulled down 12 rebounds for the visitors to lead all players on the boards.

The Tartans will next host Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday, January 19 at 2:00 p.m.