WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Nov. 22) – The Waynesburg University women's basketball team faced its biggest test of the young season when Carnegie Mellon came to town. The Yellow Jackets stood up to the stern test from the number-18 team in the country in a 77-64 loss to the Tartans.
 
Waynesburg (2-2) played CMU (4-0) to a 15-15 tie after the first quarter and took a one-point lead (18-17) after sophomore guard Anna Bartman knocked down a three-pointer in answer to an early Tartan basket in the second quarter.
 
Six-straight points by the visiting team put Waynesburg in a five-point hole. The Jackets came back to regain the lead after a three-pointer by senior guard Katie Gehlmann with 3:28 remaining in the first half. Unfortunately, Waynesburg couldn't hold onto to its 29-28 edge, and the Tartans ended the first 20 minutes of play with an 11-0 surge to head to the locker room with a 39-29 lead.
 
The Jackets cut their deficit in half (43-38) thanks to a 9-4 run to open the third quarter. Unfortunately, that was as close as Waynesburg came to completing its comeback. However, the Yellow Jackets played a very competitive second half that saw the Tartans out-score the home team by just three points (38-35).
 
Despite routinely facing first-team All-American forward Lisa Murphy in the low post, junior forward Addy Knetzer posted her third double-double of the season. Knetzer poured in a team-high 21 points on nine-of-16 shooting from the floor and pulled down a contest-best 10 rebounds.
 
Gehlmann had a big night from beyond the three-point arc, where she connected on five-of-nine attempts as part of a 19-point effort. Sophomore guard Monica Starre chipped in eight points.
 
Waynesburg out-rebounded the visitors by a 41-36 margin. Both teams connected on seven three-pointers, but the Tartans held a sizeable advantage from the free throw line, where they knocked down 18-of-25 attempts. The Jackets went nine-of-14 at the charity stripe.
 
The Orange and Black is off to enjoy Thanksgiving. Waynesburg returns to the court to open Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play at Bethany on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.