PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson women's basketball team rode a strong first quarter to earn a wire-to-wire victory over previously unbeaten Carnegie Mellon University. The Presidents piled up 25 first quarter points en route to a 56-48 victory over the Tartans. 
 
W&J improves to 10-1 overall and extends its winning streak to nine games. The loss is the first of the season for Carnegie Mellon, who falls to 8-1. Both teams entered Monday's game on eight-game winning streaks. 
 
W&J put three players in double figures scoring. Adalynn Cherry(Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) led the Presidents with 18 points. Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) tallied 13 points and Sarah Berardelli (Ambridge, Pa./North Catholic) finished with 10 points. Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) came up just short of a double-double effort, as she tallied eight points and 10 rebounds. 
 
The Presidents came out firing to build an early lead behind strong offensive play. Cherry was the catalyst for the Presidents, as the sophomore drained four three-pointers in the first half as she racked up 16 first half points. 
 
Leading by a 9-6 margin, W&J stretched its first quarter lead into double digits when the Red and Black tallied seven-straight points. A triple by Cherry made it 16-6 at the 4:41 mark. W&J added another 7-0 run later in the quarter to take its biggest lead at 25-11. Another three-point field goal by Cherry at the 1:01 mark gave W&J a 14-point advantage. 
 
CMU tallied the final four points of the opening quarter to trim W&J's lead to 25-15. The Tartans carried that momentum into the second quarter. CMU scored the initial seven points of the second quarter to close within one possession. A pair of free throws by Megan Matsko capped an 11-0 run and cut the W&J lead to 25-22 at the 7:05 mark. 
 
W&J answered with the final nine points of the opening half of play. The Presidents held the Tartans scoreless over the final seven-plus minutes. The run started with another Cherry three-point basket. Berardelli tallied four points during the W&J spurt. CMU made just two field goals and shot 14.3 percent during the second quarter. 
 
CMU used a 10-2 run to start the third quarter to close the deficit to 36-32. Bezjak helped W&J counter with a 9-4 run to close the period. Bezjak scored all nine W&J points in the quarter and stretched the lead to nine (43-34) on a three-point field goal with 32 seconds left in the frame. 
 
The Presidents opened with the first three points of the fourth quarter to push the lead back into double figures at 46-34 with 8:18 to play. 
 
Carnegie Mellon answered once again with another run. The Tartans took advantage of some turnovers to put together an 8-0 spurt to close the W&J lead to 46-42. The Tartans cut the deficit to just two points (48-46) with a field goal at the 1:47 mark. 
 
However, the Presidents used field goals by Berardelli and Victoria Koeck (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills) to stretch its lead back to six points. Cherry and Bezjak combined to convert four free throws over the final 13 seconds in the victory. 
 
Catherine Orr led the Tartans with 22 points while Ava Black finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. The Tartans made just one of 27 attempts from behind the three-point line in the game. 
 
W&J returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 29 when they host York (Pa.) for a non-conference game at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.The Presidents will host Youth/Camper Day as part of the game versus York.