UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Heidelberg University women's basketball dropped its first road game of the 2021-22 campaign.

The Student Princes suffered a 66-58 setback in the opening contest of the John Carroll Tip-Off Tournament on Friday in the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center. 

The Student Princes started out quickly, firing out to a 15-8 lead. Morgan Altenburger fired up a 3-pointer with less than a minute to play in the first, setting the score at 18-12 Heidelberg after the first quarter. 

Carnegie Mellon chipped away at the lead throughout the second quarter, outscoring the Student Princes, 15-10. HU clung to a 28-27 lead at the break, guided by nine points from Lily Sweeney and eight points from Taylor Ratliff. 

The Tartans burst out of the gates in the third to take a 33-28 lead, leading to an HU timeout at the 7:27 mark. Sweeney buried a three after the timeout, which spurred the Student Princes ahead. Carnegie Mellon called a timeout to stop the HU momentum at 37-37 with 2:54 left. Sweeney scored a layup with 15 seconds left to ensure the contest remained even after three, 41-41. 

Heidelberg and Carnegie Mellon duked it out at the start of the quarter, as the teams traded points. Trailing 51-49 with 5:53 left, Heidelberg burned a timeout. The Tartans continued to roll after the break, upping the lead gradually. While it was Carnegie Mellon's first game in 622 days, the Tartans didn't show many signs of rust down the stretch, closing out the game in the final minute with a pair of free throws.

Anika Sweeney topped the Student Princes with 13 points, followed by 12 points for Lily Sweeney. Bailey Walter topped the team with 11 rebounds. 

The Student Princes will be back in action on Saturday evening, facing off with Case Western Reserve University at 1 pm in their second game of the JCU Tip-off Tournament. 

Recap courtesy of Joe Ginley