St. Louis, Mo., January 29, 2012 – The No. 7-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team held Emory University to 1-of-8 shooting from the field in overtime as Washington U. held on for an 83-80 win over Emory in University Athletic Association action on Sunday afternoon at the WU Field House.
After shooting nearly 60 percent from the field through the first 35 minutes of the game, Emory made just 2-of-17 field-goal attempts during the final five minutes of regulation plus the five-minute overtime period. Sophomore Jordan Rettig had four points and three rebounds in overtime, including a pair of offensive boards, to help Washington U. improve to 15-3 overall and 5-2 in the UAA. Emory dropped to 13-5 overall and 4-3 in UAA play.
In the extra period, Washington U. built a 78-74 lead after a driving layup by senior Bethany Morrison and a layup by Rettig. Emory rallied with five unanswered points to regain the lead, 79-78, midway through overtime. Freshman Alyssa Johanson sank two free throws and Rettig scored on a put-back with 1:32 on the clock to give the Bears an 82-79 lead. Emory's Savannah Morgan made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to bring the Eagles to within 82-80 with 1:15 left in overtime. The Eagles got a steal with 46 seconds left, but missed back-to-back layups and Rettig pulled down the rebound for the Bears. Senior Dani Hoover was fouled with 9.8 seconds left, and made 1-of-2 free throws to push the lead to 83-80. After a timeout by Washington U., Emory got the ball down the floor, but a last-second three-pointer by Becca Feldman bounced off the rim to seal the win for the Bears.
Washington U. took a 10-2 lead on a pair of three-pointers by Hoover and two layups by senior Brianne Monahan with 16:26 left in the first half. After an Emory timeout, the Eagles went on a 9-0 run to take a 13-10 lead with 11:42 remaining in the period. Emory scored eight of its first 13 points in the game off Washington U turnovers. The Bears answered with an 11-2 run, including four points each by Rettig and freshman Maddy Scheppers, to regain a six-point lead (21-15) with 8:42 on the clock. The Bears went on another 8-5 run, sparked by a three-point play and a three-pointer in a 30-second span by sophomore Jessy Rosen, to take their largest lead of the half at 29-20. An 8-0 run by Emory in the final two minutes of the half cut the Bears' lead to 40-37 at the break.
The Bears led by three at halftime, but Emory made seven of its first 11 field goals of the second half to take a 55-51 lead with 11:54 left in regulation. Back-to-back three-point plays by Johanson and Scheppers gave the Bears a 57-55 lead. Emory answered, building its largest lead of the game (70-64) with 5:15 remaining. Washington U. battled back with five free throws to get to within 69-72, before a three-pointer by Hoover tied the game at 72-72 with 3:03 left in regulation.
After three defensive stops by the Bears, Johanson swished a jumper to give Washington U. a 74-72 lead with 40 seconds left. Emory's Morgan missed two free throws with 17 seconds left, but the rebound was called out of bounds off the Bears, giving the Eagles the ball back. Emory grabbed two offensive rebounds before Hannah Lilly was fouled with 8.4 seconds left. Lilly made both ends of the bonus free-throw opportunity to tie the game at 74-74. Washington U. pushed the ball up the floor, but a layup just before the buzzer by freshman Alexandra Keane was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.
The Bears shot 38.8 percent (26-67) from the field in the game, including 9-of-24 from three-point range. Emory shot 47 percent (31-66) from the field, and was 8-of-18 from beyond the arc. Washington U. outscored the Eagles 22-10 at the free-throw line, and the Bears finished with a 46-41 rebounding advantage in the game, including 20-15 on the offensive end.
Scheppers had a career-high 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists to lead four Washington U. players in double digits. Hoover added 14 points, three assists and three steals. Johanson finished with 11 points and six rebounds, while Rettig chipped in 10 points and four rebounds. Freshman Melissa Gilkey pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, including nine in the second half, before fouling out late in the game. Morrison tallied a team-high six assists.
Feldman led all scorers with 21 points, including 5-of-8 from three-point range for Emory. Danielle Landry (14), Morgan (12), and Lilly (11) also scored in double figures for the Eagles.
The Bears travel to No. 5-ranked University of Rochester and Emory next weekend to begin the second half of UAA play. Washington U. takes on No. 5 Rochester at 6 p.m. (ET) on Friday, Feb. 3, before playing at Emory at 2 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Feb. 5.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: As a team, Washington U. scored a season-high 83 points and tied its season-high with nine three-pointers … Washington U. leads the all-time series against Emory 41-5, and is unbeaten at the WU Field House against the Eagles … Emory entered the game leading the UAA in three-point field-goal percentage (.365) and shot 44.4 percent against the Bears, but was 0-of-3 in overtime … Emory's Hannah Lilly, the UAA leader in three-point shooting, was just 1-of-5 from beyond the arc in the game.