GRANVILLE, Ohio (Nov. 23) – The visiting Carnegie Mellon University Tartans shot 70 percent in the second half to overcome a halftime deficit and secure a 75-58 win over host Denison University in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at Livingston Gymnasium.
The victory keeps Carnegie Mellon unbeaten at 6-0. Denison drops to 4-2 overall with the loss.
Denison led 14-10 after the opening 10 minutes of play. The Big Red led by as many as 10 points in the first half before taking a 30-25 lead into halftime.
Baskets in the final minute of the first quarter by Abby Cooch and Maddie Goodman made the score 14-10 after the first quarter of play.
Denison pushed its lead to seven when Brooke Toigo opened the second quarter scoring with a triple. The lead reached double figures late in the second quarter following a layup by Morgan Kress and a three-point field goal by Cooch. The Tartans were able to score twice in the final 39 seconds, including a three-point field goal with three seconds left in the half.
After limiting the Tartans to just 25 points on 11-of-27 shooting during the opening 20 minutes, things completely flipped in the second half as Carnegie Mellon found its stride offensively to remain unbeaten.
Following a layup by Toigo at the 7:03 mark which made it 38-33, CMU embarked on a 10-1 run to surge into the lead. Consecutive threes by Isha Nambisan put the Tartans in front by a 43-39 score with 4:08 remaining in the third. Another push late in the quarter further extended the CMU lead to nine points at 53-44. Denison was able to get a late three by Goodman to trim the deficit to 53-47 heading the fourth.
However, the fourth quarter was all Carnegie Mellon. The Tartans made nine of 12 field goal attempts including both three-point attempts over the final 10 minutes. Their lead reached as many as 17 points when Savannah Gibbs connected on a layup with 4:19 to play.
Cooch led Denison with 11 points and five assists. Bryana Woodard also scored in double figures with 10 points. Abigail Westmeyer was Denison's leading rebounder with seven boards.
Catherine Orr was the catalyst for the Tartans. The senior finished with 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting while adding six assists. Isha Nambisan finished with 18 points including five made three-point field goals.
Up Next: Denison hosts Mount St. Joseph on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at the Livingston Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.