Tartans Fall in Clash with Westminster

Stats

Jan. 2 – (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – A strong start to the second half by Westminster led to a 66-57 loss for the Tartans of Carnegie Mellon on Tuesday night in Skibo Gymnasium. The Titans came ready to avenge a last second loss to Carnegie Mellon a year ago and improved to 8-3 on the season. The Tartans move to 5-5 on the year.

Carnegie Mellon took an early seven-point lead in the first half with 16:28 on the clock. Sophomore guard Colleen Light (Colts Neck, N.J./Saint John Vianney) scored on a layup off an assist from sophomore forward Ashley Rothwell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Alvernia) after junior guard Leah Feola (Pittsburgh, Pa./Canevin Catholic) scored on a put back lay in.

The teams would essentially trade baskets for the remainder of the half as there were eight lead changes and seven ties. With two seconds waiting to tick off the shot clock and nearing the halftime buzzer, Westminster's Desiree Sterling nailed a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 32-32 where it would stay for the half.

An early second half run gave the Titans a little momentum, as they pushed their lead to six just three-and-a-half minutes in. Carnegie Mellon would stage a small comeback answering with six straight points to tie the game at 42 all, including two baskets by sophomore forward Jeanette Schilling. The ensuing free throw gave the Tartans the lead but it was short lived and never returned, as Westminster went on a 10-0 run over the next four minutes.

Carnegie Mellon would get as close as six points on an basket and free throw by Schilling with 6:36 to play but turnovers and no luck from the three-point line hurt them in the end. The Titans used 10 second half miscues by the Tartans to score 12 points and only turned the ball over four times after coughing it up 11 times in the first stanza. Westminster also limited Carnegie Mellon to two second chance points after allowing nine over the first twenty minutes.

Rothwell finished as the Tartans high-scorer with 18 points on 73% shooting from the field. Schilling followed with nine points and Feola grabbed nine rebounds.

Terese Marszalek countered Rothwell's .727 field goal percentage with a 10-for-12 performance and totaled 24 points to lead the Titans. Emilee Ackerman and Sterling also scored in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Ackerman also dished out a game-high seven assists.

The Tartans will continue their three-game home stand with a University Athletic Association weekend against two ranked opponents. New York University, ranked 16th in the nation, visits Skibo Gymnasium on Friday, January 5 at 6:00 p.m. and #8 Brandeis University comes to town on Sunday, January 7 for a 2:00 p.m. tip.