Tartans Drop UAA Opener at Case Western

(CLEVELAND, Ohio) – The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team feel short in its University Athletic Association opener against Case Western Reserve University on Saturday, January 7 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Tartans (5-6, 0-1) cut a 25-point deficit to seven in the waning minutes before falling 63-51 to the host Spartans (9-3, 1-0).

After a slow start by both teams, the Tartans took a 7-2 lead six minutes into the game after junior forward Emily Peel (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) surrounded a three-pointer by senior Jennifer Larsen (Exeter, N.H./Exeter) by a layup and two free throws.

Case Western responded with three straight hoops including two by junior Evy Iacono to take an 8-7 lead not even two minutes later.

The Tartans briefly took the lead back when Peel made a move in the post for a left-handed layup. Following Peel's layup, freshman Gabrielle West (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) was able to tie the score at 11-11 with a jumper in the paint before the Spartans went on an 8-2 run behind a put-back by senior Erin Hollinger and a three-pointer by freshman Amanda Germer to take a 19-13 lead with six minutes to play in the half.

The final six minutes saw the Spartans push their advantage to 14 points as Iacono hit back-to-back three-pointers and junior Emily Mueller scored off an offensive rebound at the buzzer to take a 31-17 halftime lead.

With Case Western leading 58-37 with just over five minutes to play, the Spartan offense went cold while the Tartans were sparked by four straight from behind the arc. West hit a trey from the top of the key before Iacono answered at the other end for Case's last field goal of the half. West then hit another trey and freshman Aspen McKeever (Durango, Colo./Durango) nailed two in a row before junior forward Elissa Goldner (Somers, N.Y./The Ursuline School) hit a baseline jumper and Peel made layup and free throw to pull the Tartans within seven with one minute to play.

The Spartans were able to tighten the defense and keep the Tartans scoreless the remainder of the game as the Tartans missed five from the field while Case made five of 10 free throws to end the game at 63-51.

The Tartans were led by Peel who recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. West also finished with double figures, dropping in 15 points. While seeing limited time due to foul trouble, sophomore Jacquie Shaw (Portland, Ore./Grant) assisted on four baskets while grabbing six rebounds.

The Spartans were led by Iacono's game-high 20 points and Hollinger's 14 points. Mueller grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive side.

The Tartans return home and step out of association play when La Roche College visits Skibo Gym on Tuesday, January 10 at 7:00 p.m. The team will return to UAA action on Friday, January 13 for a matchup with #2 University of Chicago at 6:00 p.m at home in Skibo Gym.