Missy Spahar's 14th career double-double included a 16-rebound effort against Carnegie Mellon
Box Score
It would not be outrageous to characterize the fast start by the John Carroll women's basketball team as historic.
But following a 70-54 win over Carnegie Mellon Saturday in Pittsburgh, it would be hard to deny the significance of what the Blue Streaks have achieved in the early going of the 2012-13 campaign..
JCU is now 5-0 for just the fourth time in the 43-year history of the program. What separates this start from the other three (in 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1993-94) is that all but one of the five wins has occurred away from home.
The Blue Streaks appeared to be well rested despite coming off of the longest game in program history, a 100-97 victory in four overtimes over Case Reserve at the DeCarlo Center Wednesday night. JCU came out firing in the first half, knocking down 54% of their attempts from the field to take a 39-30 at the break.
Junior forward
Missy Spahar and sophomore guard
Beth Switzler stepped up to supply most of the damage, combining for 24 points and seven rebounds to help give John Carroll the early advantage. That helped the Streaks close the half on a 22-9 run that erased a four-point deficit.
The Blue Streaks steadily pulled away in the second half, as their lead never dipped below five points, and stayed in double digits over the final 13:29.
Spahar finished with a game-high 24 points and tied a career-high 16 rebounds. She also added two assists and two steals to her second consecutive double-double and the 14
th of her career. Switzler ended her big day 8-10 from the field to net a career-best 20 points, and contributed six rebounds and one block to the cause.
John Carroll finished the game shooting 26-60 (.433) from the field and forced 24 Tartan turnovers.
Carnegie Mellon (5-2) was paced by 12 points from Emily Peel. The Tartans shot just 22-71 (.312) from the floor as the home team had its four-game winning streak snapped. Carnege mellon had held both of its previous two opponents – Penn State-Altoona and Hiram -- to under 18 percent field-goal percentages and less than 30 total points.
