WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team (7-2) suffered a 78-67 setback to the visiting Carnegie Mellon University Tartans (5-3) on School Day Wednesday afternoon inside the Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
Riley DeRubbo (Washington, Pa./Trinity) finished with a team-high 17 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds and four assists.
Jaden Wan (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock) tallied a season-best 14 points and added five boards. Wan's four made three-pointers were a single-game career high.
Marina Grado (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) and
Katie Kovalchick (Shelocta, Pa./Indiana Area) finished with 11 points and 10 points, respectively.
Both teams returned to action after 10-day layoffs from game action due to final exams. Carnegie Mellon showed no signs of rust, as they put together one of their best offensive showings of the season to secure the victory. The Tartans shot 49.1 percent from the field and made a season-best nine three-pointers to secure the victory.
W&J held Carnegie Mellon without a made field goal over the first four-plus minutes. DeRubbo helped W&J push out to a 7-0 advantage with a three-point play at the 5:40 mark. CMU battled back and cut the deficit to 10-8 behind a pair of three-pointers. A pair of free throws by
Jacey Mullen (New Springfield, Ohio/Springfield Local) and a three by Wan extended the lead back to seven. However, the Tartans closed the quarter with five-straight points. W&J led by a 15-13 margin after the opening 10 minutes.
CMU took control in the second quarter. The Tartans shot 56.2 percent from the field, made 50 percent of their three-point attempts and 4-5 at the free throw line during a 25-point quarter. A minute into the second quarter, CMU knocked down a three-pointer to take its first lead at 16-15. The Tartans led for the remainder of the quarter. Grado helped W&J within striking distance. Grado knocked down a triple at the 4:54 mark and added a driving layup which cut the deficit to 31-30 at the 2:22 mark. The Tartans scored seven of the next eight points to strengthen their lead to 38-31 at halftime.
The Tartans carried that momentum over into the second half. CMU limited W&J to just three field goals during the quarter, which allowed the visitors to take a 61-44 lead into the fourth.
W&J trimmed its deficit back into single digits in the fourth quarter. Wan accounted for eight points during a 10-2 run for the Presidents. A triple by Wan cut the CMU advantage to 63-54 and forced the Tartans' timeout with 7:15 to play. The Tartans were able to maintain a comfortable lead for the remainder of the game.
Carnegie Mellon held a sizable 23-7 advantage in bench points. Nicole Timko scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Tartans.
Following a break for the holidays, W&J returns to action with a pair of games against strong out-of-conference opponents in Central Ohio. The Presidents face Otterbein on Dec. 29 and nationally ranked Ohio Wesleyan on Dec. 30.
