ALLIANCE, Ohio – Mount Union women's basketball team defeated Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) (6-1) 57-32 Wednesday night in a non-conference match-up at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex. 

The Purple Raiders (5-0) had 10 players who found themselves in the scoring column with senior guards Rachel Tinkey (Canfield) and Meghan Hess (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) leading the way with nine points a piece.

Sophomore forward Sarah Hessel (Avon Lake) continued to find success under the rim as she led the team with nine rebounds for the third consecutive game. Also with a strong defensive performance was senior guard Anna Alkire (Massillon/Jackson) had five steals on the night for a career-high.

An inside look from Tinkey to Jaime Sanborn (Twinsburg) got the game moving in the first quarter, giving Mount Union the opening basket before Carnegie Mellon shortly answered. A long three for the Tartans at 5:51 would put them ahead 5-2. Two blocks from Renee DeFord (Casstown/Miami East) would slow down the Tartans offense but the Raiders soon trailed 11-6 with under a minute to play in the first quarter. Tinkey was able to get to the line and sink two shots to cut it to 11-8 and then a Carnegie Mellon turnover gave Elena Rauhe (Seven Hills/Padua Franciscan) just enough time to hit a three at the buzzer to tie the score at 11-11.

Rauhe's momentum carried over into the second quarter with a quick three and a fast-break layup on a steal off the press by Sanborn to put Mount Union ahead 16-11 and force a Carnegie Mellon timeout. Carnegie Mellon sparked a 5-0 run to tie it up at 16-all with a hefty 6:50 still to play. The two then went point-for-point through 21-21 with less than two minutes remaining until Mount Union caught a run of their own to retake the lead, 26-21, entering halftime. 

Beginning of the third quarter, the Raiders ran an out of bounds play under the hoop for a quick score which then unraveled into an 11-0 run with an array of Raiders hitting shots from all over the floor. Carnegie Mellon sunk their first bucket at 6:07 but Mount Union proceeded to take their largest lead of the game at 40-23 after another long-winded run before ultimately closing out the quarter ahead 42-27.

A three by Tinkey opened the fourth quarter to extend Mount Union's lead to 18 before entering the twenties on a fast-break layup by Alkire, making the score 47-27. Carnegie Mellon got on the board at the five minute-mark after a 10-0 scoring surge by the Raiders but continued to fall behind at 52-29. Mount Union ended up outscoring Carnegie Mellon 15-5 in the final quarter to win their fifth straight and give Carnegie Mellon their first loss.

Mount Union next beings Ohio Athletic Conference action Saturday, December 1 at 3:00 p.m. as they stay home to host Ohio Northern.