From University of Chicago Athletics
The University of Chicago women's basketball team unleashed a devastating barrage of three-pointers en route to an 88-39 blowout win over Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday.
The Maroons (14-6, 6-2 UAA) have now won eight games this season by at least 20 points. The No. 20-ranked Tartans dropped to 15-5 overall and 4-5 in the University Athletic Association (UAA).
The three-point arc was generous to the Maroons all afternoon and they set a new school record with 15 treys in the game, breaking the old mark of 14. That mark also tied the UAA record that was set by Emory University in 1997. UChicago's 49-point margin of victory was its biggest since defeating Carnegie Mellon 95-46 on Feb. 10, 2012.
CMU was up early 8-4, but the Maroons took over from there with 11-straight points. Freshman guard Mia Farrell contributed five points during that run and UChicago never looked back.
The Tartans struggled once more on the perimeter with UChicago's defensive swarm. CMU turned the ball over 31 times in the last meeting between the two teams, and the Maroons were up to the task again. They forced 26 turnovers on Sunday that turned into 28 points going the other way.
Back-to-back threes by sophomore guard Alyssa Clemente and freshman guard Miranda Burt pushed the lead to 23-13. CMU utilized a zone defense against UChicago throughout the contest, but the rotations couldn't keep up with the Maroon ball movement. The hosts pinged the ball around the court until they got wide-open looks at three, and they buried them at a high rate. In the first half alone, UChicago converted 10 of 19 from beyond the arc.
The Maroons continued their thievery in the second quarter and forced 16 turnovers in the first half of play. Junior guard Elizabeth Nye heated up with a trio of threes in the quarter and posted 11 points in the half. A 14-3 streak to end the half blew the game open. UChicago went into the break with a commanding 49-26 advantage. Clemente and senior forward Britta Nordstrom both scored nine points and Burt accounted for eight.
A 17-3 run to start the third quarter built the lead up to 66-29. Senior forward Michelle Dobbs provided a highlight with a layup and foul for a traditional three-point play on a fast break. Meanwhile, UChicago's defense continued to lock down the Tartans, limiting them to 13 points in the second half.
The Maroons led by as many as 52 points and cruised the rest of the way while getting extended minutes from their bench corps.
In total, UChicago shot 47.7 percent overall from the field and 48.4 percent from three (15-31). CMU struggled to a 26.5 percent shooting performance, including 1-for-13 from deep. The Maroons dominated the rebounding category 48-27 and the assists column 22-4.
Nordstrom paced the team with 16 points and added seven rebounds and four steals. Burt knocked down four triples for a total of 14 points. Clemente submitted a career-high 12 points off the bench with a quartet of three-pointers to her credit.