St. Louis, Mo., January 28, 2011 – The No. 8 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team extended its home-court winning streak to 37 games with a 61-39 victory over Carnegie Mellon University on Friday night at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Mo.

Washington University (14-3, 5-1 UAA) returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 30, when it hosts Case Western Reserve University for another UAA tilt at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Mo., at 2 p.m.

Senior Alex Hoover led the Bears with a game-high 12 points, while sophomore Annie Sayers added 10 points and eight rebounds. Washington U. shot just 35.6 (21-59) percent from the field for the game, and hit 2-of-14 from three-point range. The Bears had a 51-28 rebounding advantage, led by junior guard Dani Hoover's career-high 10 boards.

Washington U. jumped out to a commanding 22-4 lead midway through the first half behind some stellar defensive play. The Bears limited Carnegie Mellon to 2-of-15 from the field and forced seven turnovers in the opening 13 minutes of action. Washington U. took a 31-12 lead to the locker room following a three-point play by sophomore Brianne Monahan with 53 seconds remaining.

The Bears scored 22 of their 31 points in the first half in the paint, and outrebounded Carnegie Mellon, 28-13. Alex Hoover led Washington U. with seven points in the opening 20 minutes, while Sayers added six points. The Tartans connected on just five of 21 field goals in the first half, and went a span of 9:26 midway through the half without a field goal.

A three-pointer by senior Kathryn Berger got Washington U.'s lead up to 20 in the second half, but the Tartans would not go away. Carnegie Mellon (2-15, 0-6 UAA) trimmed the lead down to 17 following a three-pointer by Alexi Zambino, and then got it down to 47-32 with a put-back from Alex Hansen with 8:22 to play. The Bears quickly got the lead back to 20 on a pair of free-throws by Alex Hoover and a lay-up by sophomore Kristin Anda to seal the victory for Washington U., its fifth straight overall.

Berger finished with eight points on 2-of-12 shooting from the field, as her streak of scoring in double figures came to an end at 10-straight games. Brit Phillips led the Tartans with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, as Carnegie Mellon shot 30.6 percent (15-49 from the field as a team.

Bear Notebook: The Bears shot 73.9 percent (17-23) from the foul line in the win … Washington University leads the all-time series with Carnegie Mellon University, 42-3, and the Bears have won 31-straight meetings with the Tartans … The Bears have outrebounded 16 of 17 opponents in 2010-11.