Tartans Top CWRU in Double Overtime, 71-70, to Close Season

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - It took two extra frames but the Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team won its final regular season game by a 71-70 score against visiting Case Western Reserve University on Saturday, February 29. The Tartans finish the year with an 11-14 overall mark and a 4-10 record in the University Athletic Association (UAA). The Spartans finish the year at 10-15 and 5-9.

Sophomore Leah Weslock (Howell, Mich. / Howell) led the Tartans with 17 points while senior Makayla Filiere (Chandler, Ariz. / Hamilton) had 14 and senior Megan Jaeb (San Jose, Calif. / Presentation) scored 12. Jaeb put in the game-winning shot with a driving layup with 12 seconds to play. She then helped clamp down on defense and grabbed the final rebound of the game when Isabella Mills' shot bounced off the rim.

The first overtime period was forced when Emma Cain made a layup with three seconds to play and Filiere's jumper at the buzzer rimmed out. Neither team got much going in overtime as only one basket apiece was scored with CWRU's Kendall McConico making the first with 3:34 to go. Tartan senior Laurel Pereira (Naperville, Ill. / Naperville North) tied the game with just under a minute remaining with a driving layup falling away to her left. The Tartans missed an opportunity to take the lead with 12 seconds remaing before a shot by CWRU missed sending the game to the second overtime frame.

The lead changed hands five times in the second overtime period with the Tartans starting with the first bucket on a driving layup by Filiere. The home team then withstood a Spartan run that put the visitors ahead by four with 2:21 to go but senior Katie Higgins (Montclair, N.J. / Montclair) cut into that with a layup and a free throw on the next trip down the floor. Sophomore Caitylyn Clendenin (Bethesda, Md. / Bethesda Chevy Chase) gave the Tartans a 69-68 lead with a layup before CWRU took back the lead with 22 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws by McKenna Gross. That led to Jaeb's driving layup for the final bucket and Tartan victory.

Clendenin finished with a game-high 12 rebounds to go with eight rebounds and seven assists while Filiere picked up six steals and finished the season one short of tying the school record of 84. Clendenin's assist tally tied a season and career-high while Jaeb's point total marked a career-best effort.

As the Tartans celebrated the seniors prior to the tip, all six scored a basket in the game with Higgins finishing with five points, senior Cameron Pitts (Frederick, Md. / Oakdale) with five points and senior Linden Runels (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / John F Kennedy) with three points.