Carnegie Mellon Stumbles in Loss to NYU

Jan. 5 – (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – Carnegie Mellon fell at the hands of #16 New York University 72-50 in University Athletic Association women’s basketball action Friday night in Skibo Gymnasium. The Violets leave Pittsburgh with a perfect 11-0 mark and a 1-0 start to league play, while Carnegie Mellon slips to 5-6 overall and 0-2 in the association.

The Violets jumped out to a 33-point halftime lead using defensive movement to force the Tartans into 13 first half turnovers and a shooting percentage of .192. Carnegie Mellon went scoreless for four minutes while NYU built a 26-11 lead with 8:43 to play. A trey by senior guard Nora Darcher (Naselle, Wash./Naselle) was all the Tartans would score for the remainder of the half, as the first stanza ended with a 47-14 Violet advantage.

The home team would settle down in the second half, making 36.7% of their shot attempts and also forced the Violets to shoot just 34.4% from the floor after hitting 64.5% during the first 20 minutes.

Freshman guard Paige Williamson (Washington, Pa./Trinity) caught fire in the second half scoring all 12 of her team-best points on four three-pointers, two coming in transition offense.

Sophomore guard Colleen Light (Colts Neck, N.J./Saint John Vianney) finished with 11 points to follow Williamson and sophomore guard Stacie Aleski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) added a team-high five assists.

The Violets were led by Jessica McEntee who had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Stephanie Ryba totaled 14 points on 60% shooting and Karen Bachman had a team-best six assists.

The Tartans continue their tough schedule with a home contest against #8 Brandeis University on Sunday, January 7 at 2:00 p.m.