Women’s basketball losses in Chicago and St. Louis

Poor shooting cost the Carnegie Mellon women’s basketball team two matches in the past week; the team lost to the Washington University (Mo.) Bears 37–64 Friday and to the University of Chicago Maroons 38–67 Sunday. Carnegie Mellon is now 7–13 for the year and 0–9 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play. The Bears improve to 14–5 and 6–2 in the UAA, and the Maroons improve to 15–5 and 6–3, respectively.
Against the Bears, the Tartans got off to an energetic start, making three of four shot attempts. One was a three-pointer by sophomore guard Paige Williamson that leveled things up at 11–11 with 13:46 left in the half. In the next five-minute span, however, Carnegie Mellon seemed to run out of gas, as the team missed six straight shots and committed six turnovers. Meanwhile, Washington continued to play well as the Bears made five of eight shots, including three treys, to take advantage of the situation and run out to a quick 15-point lead.
Although junior forward Rachelle Roll did halt the Bears’ run with a layup around the eight-minute mark, it took four and a half minutes before the Tartans managed to score again. As a result, the Bears were able to extend their lead to as many as 23 points in the first half. At halftime, the score was 56–22, in favor of Wash. U.
In the second half, the Bears pushed their lead to 56–22 as they quickly sank seven of their first eight shots from the field. Wash. U. finished with a 49.1 percent field goal percentage, while the Tartans made a season-low 21.3 percent of their shot attempts.
Tartan junior guard Corey Innes led all scorers with 13 points, including three three-pointers, while Roll led all players with 11 rebounds. Zoe Unruh led the Bears with 12 points while Shanna-Lei Decanay and Janice Evans scored 10 points apiece.
In the game against the Maroons Sunday, Carnegie Mellon was again troubled by poor shooting as the team shot a mere 14.8 percent from the field during the first 20 minutes and trailed 33–13 at the half. Although their shooting improved to 33.3 percent (including two three-pointers) in the second half, and they went on a small run whereby they scored five points off six Maroon turnovers, the deficit was just too large to overcome. The Tartans eventually fell 67–38 to University of Chicago.
“Both games were very hard fought,” junior guard Ashley Rothwell said. “We played hard, but it’s always more difficult to play on the road. Furthermore, our players were plagued with sicknesses, and it’s unfortunate that we now have to deal with dwindling numbers as well. We have a very talented team. We just have to find the combination that wins games and continue with it.”
Junior guard Rachelle Roll just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, while senior guard Leah Feola contributed nine points in the loss. Chicago was led by Nicaya Rapier’s 10 points, while three other players scored nine apiece.
Carnegie Mellon faces New York University at 6 p.m on Friday in New York.