John Carroll Starts Fast, Finishes Strong In Convincing Women's Championship Game Victory Over Carnegie Mellon

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The John Carroll Blue Streak took a 10-2 lead in the opening minutes and never looked back, capturing a resounding 72-45 victory over Carnegie Mellon in the championship game of the 2007 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic, hosted by Wittenberg University.

The win moved the Blue Streaks, who topped Manchester in the semifinals on Friday, to 4-5 on the season, while Carnegie Mellon, which topped host Wittenberg on Friday to reach the title game, fell to 6-4 overall.

John Carroll never trailed in the game, stretching the lead to 37-13 by halftime and pushing the advantage to as many as 27 points by the 10:06 mark of the second half. The Blue Streaks shot 48 percent from the field in the game, held a three-rebound advantage, committed two less turnovers and held CMU to just 29 percent shooting in the game. Carnegie Mellon couldn't even take advantage of its 24 free throw attempts in the game, making just 11 after canning 22-of-28 in their semifinal win over Wittenberg.

John Carroll was paced offensively by all-tournament honoree Lianna Jennings, who poured in a career-high 18 points and five rebounds in just 13 minutes off the bench. Tournament Most Valuable Player Caitlin Sureck added 10 points and six rebounds.

Carnegie Mellon, which dressed just eight players, was paced offensively by all-tournament selection Leah Feola with 12 points and five rebounds.