Junior Shaina Kaiser (Ostrander, Ohio/Buckeye Valley) scored 32 points, tying her career-high, as the Denison women's basketball team knocked off Carnegie Mellon University 76-57 for their fourth consecutive victory on Sunday afternoon on the second day of the Chatham University Thanksgiving Classic in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Big Red started the game 3-of-5 (60 percent) from behind the arc en route to building a 15-8 lead roughly six minutes into the contest. The Tartans responded with eight unanswered points to retake a one-point lead with 10:09 in the opening frame. Down 19-17 with just under eight minutes in the first half, DU orchestrated an 11-0 run highlighted by four tallies by Kaiser. The burst was capped off at the 4:35 mark with a three-pointer by first-year point guard Kristen Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy). CMU was able to trim the margin to six points (30-24), but a fast break layup by Kaiser with six second on the clock gave Denison an eight-point edge heading into the half.
The Big Red dominated the second half. Kaiser opened the period with a bucket that gave Denison a double-digit lead, an advantage they held for the entire period. DU shot an impressive 50 percent (19-of-38) from the floor and led by as many as 24 points (65-41) with 6:04 left in the period.
Denison outscored Carnegie 36-26 in the paint and committed just 11 turnovers, tying a season-low, compared to 22 giveaways by the Tartans.
In addition to her game-high 32 points, Kaiser grabbed five boards, dished off six assists and had six steals in 32 minutes of action. Her 32 points tied for the fourth-most points ever scored by a DU women's basketball player. The single-game scoring record is 41 points, set by Christi Clay in 1994.
Sophomore Christina Myers (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) pulled down a game-high 10 boards to go with her eight tallies, while freshman point guard Serafina Nuzzo (Western Springs, Ill. Fenwick) also chipped in eight points and five assists.
Carnegie Mellon was led by Jacki Cortese who logged 21 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Nicole Vaccarella scored nine points, while Brit Phillips finished with six tallies and 10 assists.
DU improves to 4-1 on the year, while CMU falls to 3-3. The Big Red returns to action on Saturday (Dec. 5) when they open North Coast Athletic Conference play at Hiram College. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
