PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Brandeis University women's basketball team owned a 12-11 lead after one quarter, but the host Carnegie Mellon University Tartans scored 19 unanswered points to start the second period and the Tartans went on to earn a 73-54 University Athletic Association victory tonight.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis: 4-9, 0-2 UAA.
• Carnegie Mellon: 10-3, 2-0 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges hit three of their five 3-pointers for the game in the first quarter as they established a 12-11 lead. Junior Caitlin Gresko (Howell, N.J./Howell), sophomore Abby Kennedy (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) and first-year Carlie Marrella (Ashland, Mass./Ashland) each connected from downtown.
• Sophomore forward Brooke Reed (Chantilly, Va./Westfield) grabbed five rebounds, four on the offensive glass, to help Brandeis to its early lead.
• After both teams missed on their first possession of the second quarter, CMU took the lead on a Savannah Gibbs and the Tartans never looked back.
• They held Brandeis scoreless for the first six minutes, scoring 19 in a row to take a 30-12 lead before Judge grad student Francesca Marchese (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Academy) hit a long two-pointer. Brandeis closed on an 11-4 run to close within 11 points at halftime, 34-23.
• Gresko had seven of Brandeis's 11 points in the period, but the Tartans shot 71% in the stanza (10-14) compared to 18% for the Judges (3-17).
• Carnegie Mellon didn't let up in the second half, leading by as many as 21 points before the 19-point final margin of victory. The Tartans shot 52% from the field in the second half (17-33) while holding Brandeis to 33% (10-30).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Gresko led the Judges in scoring with 12 points, hitting 3-of-11 overall, 2-of-6 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 from the line. She also led the Judges with six rebounds and had two steals.
• Sophomore Katherine Vaughan (Bedford, Mass./Bedford) added 10 points and four boards.
• Carnegie Mellon's Savannah Gibbs led all players with 14 points, had seven rebounds and a game-high four assists.
• Piper Ligotti added 12 points and game-highs of nine rebounds and four steals. Allie Heyer netted 11 points, including three 3-pointers.
• CMU controlled the paint, outscoring Brandeis, 48-22, inside. That far outweighed the Judges' 14-2 advantage in second-chance points and 15-5 edge from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT

• The Judges wrap up their three-game UAA road trip on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Case Western Reserve, also winless in the league.