Tartans Move to 2-0 in UAA with 73-54 Win Against Brandeis

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's basketball team picked up its second straight 19-point victory in University Athletic Association (UAA) play with a 73-54 home victory against Brandeis University on Friday, January 12. The Tartans are now 10-3 overall and 2-0 while the Judges drop to 4-9 and 0-2.

How It Happened

• The Tartans rebounded from a 33.3% shooting effort in the first quarter which saw them trail 12-11 with a 71.4% effort in the second quarter to take a 34-23 lead at the break.
• A 19-0 run to start the second quarter drove the score differential with a trio of three-pointers by three different scorers, sophomore Piper Ligotti, junior Catherine Or, and freshman Allie Heyer.
• Sophomore Savannah Gibbs tallied six of her team-leading 14 points in the second quarter while she and Heyer both dished out two assists.
• Brandeis had eight offensive rebounds and pushed the Tartans into 11 turnovers in the first half to shoot 10 more shots than the home team, but they only converted 19.4% and trailed by 11 at the break.
• The Tartans recorded another 10 buckets in the third period and twice led by 20 points when Heyer converted a layup off a pass from junior Isha Nambisan with 1:43 to play and again when Nambisan made a layup off a dish from Gibbs with 24 seconds to go in the quarter.
• The final quarter was back-and-forth with the Tartans leading by 21 after Heyer's third three-pointer of the game with 3:17 to go.
• Ligotti led the Tartans in the fourth frame with seven points, as she was 3-of-3 from the floor and 1-of-1 from the free throw line.

For the Tartans

• Nine Tartans assisted on at least one basket with the team dishing out 20 assists on 31 made shots.
• Gibbs led the team with four assists and 14 points.
• Ligotti finished with a season-high 12 points and a career-best nine rebounds and four steals.
• Heyer scored 11 points and made three triples for the third time this season.

For the Judges

• Caitlin Gresko scored 12 points off the bench to lead the team.
• Katherine Vaughan scored 10 points and recorded three blocks.

Notes

• The Tartans extended their winning streak against the Judges to eight games.
• In three games against Brandeis, Gibbs is averaging 12.6 points and 8.7 rebounds.

Up Next

The Tartans will host first-ranked New York University (13-0, 2-0) on Sunday, January 14 at 2:00 p.m.