Tartans Dominate in ECAC Semifinal, Top Kean 77-44

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - All five starters scored in double figures for the Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team who defeated top-seeded Kean University in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Women's Basketball Championship semifinal, 77-44, on Wednesday, March 2 at home in Wiegand Gymnasium. The Tartans are now 13-11 for the season while Kean closes their campaign at 17-8. 

It was a senior show for the Tartans in the first period as seniors Caitlyn Clendenin (Bethesda, Md. / Bethesda Chevy Chase) and Leah Weslock (Howell, Mich. / Howell) accounted for all 14 points, as the Tartans trailed 17-14.

Kean maintained the lead through the second quarter until a three-pointer from the top of the key by freshman Isha Nambisan (Fremont, Calif. / Mission San Jose) tied the score at 28-28 with 4:01 remaining in the half. The Tartans would score the final five points of the half, including the triple by Nambisan, to lead 31-28 at the break. Before the Cougars had a five-minute scoring drought where they missed eight shot attempts, the team was shooting 66.7% from the floor with senior Shannon McCoy scoring 16 points. McCoy had nine of the team's 11 points in the second quarter and her own 12-point streak spanning the two quarters.

The Tartans added to their advantage in the third quarter scoring the first five points to push their lead to eight before Kean hit back-to-back buckets to pull the deficit to three with 6:48 showing on the clock. The Tartans would then go on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to take the first double-digit lead of the game, 45-33. Freshman Anisha Chintala (Austin, Texas / Westwood) and Nambisan connected on back-to-back triples to excite the crowd and force Kean into a timeout.

Kean would pull back to nine points twice in the quarter but another pair of three-pointers for the Tartans and a fast break layup by Chintala gave the Tartans their largest lead to that point at 17 points.

The Tartans shot 66.7% for the quarter, making 5-of-6 from long range, while the Cougars connected on just 27.8% of their attempts.

The hot shooting continued for the Tartans in the fourth quarter, as they made their first four shots to build a 66-40 lead with 7:04 to play. The Cougars continued to struggle from the field, scoring their first points of the frame with 52 seconds to play.

Weslock finished with a game and season-high 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor. Clendenin recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds while dishing out a career-tying seven assists. Nambisan dropped in 12 points while Chintala and freshman Catherine Or (Los Angeles, Calif. / Marlborough School) each scored 11.

The eight three-pointers for the Tartans was the second most they've recorded in a game this season, while they averaged 4.3 made three-pointers a game coming into the contest.

The Tartans move on to the ECAC Championship game for the third time in program history, previously winning the title in 2000 and 2017, and will face the winner of Penn State Behrend and Westminster College on Saturday, March 5 at noon.