| The Bears celebrate Nancy
Fahey's 600th career win. No women's basketball coach has gotten
there faster than Fahey did, in 706 games. Photo by Danny Reise, WUSTL Photo Services |
Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball head coach Nancy Fahey became the fastest women's basketball coach in NCAA history to reach 600 career wins with a 62-52 victory over Hendrix College on the first day of the Thanksgiving Classic Saturday at the WU Field House.
Fahey reached the 600-win milestone in just her 706th career game at Washington U. The previous fastest NCAA women's basketball coaches to win 600 games did so in 716 games. Fahey became just the 23rd active women's basketball coach in all NCAA divisions to record 600 wins. Her winning percentage of .850 (600-106) ranks fifth in NCAA history among coaches from all divisions.
Hendrix led early in the game, grabbing an 18-12 lead with 11:28 left in the first half. Washington U. went on an 8-0 run, including back-to-back baskets by freshman Maddy Scheppers, to turn the deficit into a 20-18 lead. Hendrix scored five of the next seven points to regain a 23-22 lead, but a layup by senior Bethany Morrison, and three-straight layups by sophomore Jordan Rettig gave the Bears a 30-23 lead. Hendrix managed another basket with 1:11 left in the half to cut Washington U.'s lead to 30-25 at halftime. The Bears limited Hendrix to just two field goals in the final 11 minutes of the first half.
In the second half, Washington U. extended its lead to 40-28 after a layup by senior Dani Hoover with 16:19 remaining. The Bears continued to control the game, extending their lead to as many as 16 points at 50-34 on a pair of free throws by junior Kristin Anda. Hendrix rallied to cut Washington U.'s lead to 56-47 with 4:38 left in the game after back-to-back three-pointers. The Bears regained a double-digit lead with a three-pointer by Scheppers to make it 59-47, before earning the 62-52 win.
Washington U. shot 35.6 percent from the field in the game, while Hendrix shot 31.7 percent. The Bears forced the Warriors to commit 16 turnovers, which led to 14 points off turnovers for Washington U. The Bears finished with a 49-44 rebounding advantage in the game, including 21 offensive boards.
Anda and freshman Melissa Gilkey both just missed double-doubles for the Bears. Anda had season-highs of 10 points and eight rebounds, along with a career-high five steals, to lead Washington U. Gilkey finished with eight points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Morrison, Hoover and Rettig added eight points each. Morrison also tied her career-high with eight assists.
Washington University (4-0) will face No. 10 DePauw University in the Thanksgiving Classic championship game at 3 p.m. on Sunday. DePauw had a big second-half to pull away for a 67-54 win over No. 17 Illinois Wesleyan University in the first game of the Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday afternoon. Hendrix and Illinois Wesleyan will square off in the consolation game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.