PITTSBURGH, PA – The #25 University of Rochester women's basketball team jumped out to a quick 8-0 start and earned a wire-to-wire 68-60 victory over Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday afternoon at CMU's Weigand Gymnasium.
Rochester improves to 15-7 on the season and moves to 5-6 in University Athletic Association play, while the Tartans fall back to .500 on the season, sitting at 11-11 overall and 2-9 in the UAA.
The Yellowjackets were led by graduate student Katie Titus who poured in 31 points on the afternoon. She hit 13-of-26 shots from the field and added 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists. The 30-point output was the third of the season for the UAA scoring leader.
Alexis Sestric added 15 points for Rochester and Callie McCulley added a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. The senior forward also added 4 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals.
CMU's Catherine Or led the home team with 17 points and 11 rebounds while also swiping four steals. Megan Matsko scored 12 points while Savannah Gibbs chipped in eight points and nine boards.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Sestric and Titus quickly opened the scoring for Rochester with Sestric adding another jumper to boost UR's lead to 8-0 just two minutes into the contest.
The Tartans got on the board when Or hit a jumper, but Rochester's lead hit double-digits at 19-9 later in the quarter following a jumper from Trinity Johnson. After one, UR led by eight.
A slow start to the second quarter saw just three field goals made in the opening five minutes.
CMU got within six at 23-17 following a jump shot from Ava Black with 4:21 left, but Johnson jump started an 8-0 run to boost the Yellowjacket lead to 14 two minutes later. Abby Gress, Hailey Bruneau and Paige Gaynier added buckets in the spurt for Rochester.
At halftime, UR led by 12, up 35-23 after Sestric made two free throws with under a second on the clock.
Titus hit a layup and McCulley drained a wing 3-pointer to help Rochester to its biggest lead of the game, leading 40-23, just a minute into the second half.
Another McCulley 3-pointer late in the quarter kept the lead at 15 points, with Gibbs recording a late basket to send the Tartans into the fourth trailing by 13, 55-42.
Carnegie Mellon got within ten with five minutes to go, looking for a rally late, but Rochester responded with sixth straight points, including a big triple from Alexis Sestric to regain a 16-point cushion.
The Tartans pressed and forced some UR turnovers late, and that, coupled with some misses from the free throw line allowed Rochester's lead to slip down into single digits as the final buzzer sounded.
Rochester now returns home for the final three games of the regular season. The Yellowjackets host Brandeis next Friday and top-10 conference foe NYU next Sunday in the Palestra.