Women’s basketball overcomes slow start to top Oberlin

The Carnegie Mellon women’s basketball team played Oberlin College on Saturday. The hard-fought contest ended in a 73–64 win for the Tartans, improving their record to 6–0 for the season.

Oberlin got off to a 5–0 start before the Tartans made their first basket. Though the Yeowomen were able to get off to a fast start, junior guard Jackie Hudepohl’s scoring helped the Tartans close the gap during the course of the first period. The Tartans even managed to take the lead a few times before the quarter finished with a 14–14 tie.

In the second quarter, Oberin once again worked up a lead, this time keeping a tight defense against the Tartans.

Junior center and forward Lisa Murphy kept the Tartans afloat during the period, getting the Tartans through their largest deficit of nine points and keeping the game much closer at 36–33 Oberlin going into halftime.

The third quarter saw Oberlin extend their lead with a few three-point shots. Senior forward Liza Otto contributed to much of the Tartans’ scoring in the period, and Murphy was able to get open for plenty of two-point baskets as the Tartans came back. After taking the lead with two minutes to go, Oberlin came back with another three-point field goal, but the Tartans were able to retake the lead after a foul gave Murphy the chance to make some free shots. The Yeowomen had a chance to tie the game at the end of the period, but the Tartans got the rebound and managed to get one more score out of it, closing the period with a 58–53 lead.

The Yeowomen got off to a quick start in the final period, tying up the game before Murphy made another basket. Several lead changes ensued as both teams refused to let up. In the last two minutes, the Tartans found themselves with a sizable lead and managed to burn quite a bit of time as they continued to add more breathing space. At 30 seconds, the Yeowomen were desperate to extend game time by fouling after earning a three-point field goal. However, the Tartans were able to recover the ball after Oberlin failed to score again, finally finishing off the Yeowomen.

Though the offense took a while to truly get going, the Tartans turned out another strong performance. Murphy led the way for the team with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Otto earned 15 points and four rebounds, Hudepohl got 13 points and eight rebounds, and senior guard Lindsay Poss notched 10 points and seven rebounds.

Although the Tartans played from behind during much of the game, they were able to pull through and end up on top by a fair margin. “It was really great to come back,” Murphy said after the game. “Coming back shows a lot of mental toughness in the team.” The defensive effort helped keep the deficits to manageable levels before the offense finally got going. “Our defense brought home the win.” Although the Tartans will face their next six opponents on the road, Murphy has confidence that the team will be strong enough to earn a number of wins during the stretch.

The Tartans will next take on Bethany College on Monday.