Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 2, 2014 – Junior forward Melissa Gilkey recorded the 15th double-double of her career with 17 points and tied a career-high with 14 rebounds to lead the No. 2-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team to a 69-61 win at No. 16 Emory University Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
Gilkey was 6-of-14 from the field and hit 2-of-2 from three-point range and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line and she scored in double figures for the 13th-straight game and 17th time this season. She also added two blocked shots to move into a tie with Dana Bryant (1992-96) for seventh on WUSTL's all-time career leaderboard with 86.
Sophomore guard Jordan Thompson (12), junior guard Maddy Scheppers (12) and graduate student forward Kristin Anda (10 points, eight rebounds, four assists) also scored in double figures for Washington University.
Washington U. improved its overall record to 17-1 and 7-0 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play, and extends its season-long win streak to 13 games. The Bears have a two-game lead over New York University in the UAA standings with seven games to play.
Senior forward Jordan Rettig added six points, a career-high five assists and 11 rebounds in the win. Anda, Gilkey and Rettig combined to pull down 33 rebounds as Washington U. had a 44-32 advantage on the glass. The Bears shot 42.6 percent (26-61) from the field and 92.3 percent (12-13) from the foul line in the win.
Gilkey was the lone offensive threat early in the contest for Washington U. scoring nine of the Bears' first 11 points. Her put back with 17:59 to play made it 11-4. Emory started slow from the field hitting 2-of-9 from the field, but a 6-0 run by the Eagles forced a timeout by WUSTL head coach Nancy Fahey.
The Eagles took it first lead of the game with 12:55 to play on a bucket by Michelle Bevan, but Washington U. followed with a 9-2 run to get the lead back at 20-14. Thompson's nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key to end the run and forced a 30-second timeout by Emory.
Thompson hit another long jumper, this time right before the halftime buzzer went off giving the Bears a 30-22 at half. Gilkey had nine points and 10 rebounds at half to lead Washington U., who shot 36.7 percent (11-30) from the field and outrebounded Emory 26-15. The Bears turned eight offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points in the opening half. Emory shot 32.4 percent (11-34) from the field and missed all seven of its three-pointers.
Thompson canned her second three-pointer of the game to start the second half to ignite a 7-2 run as Washington U. opened up a double-digit lead at 37-27. Emory trimmed the lead to 46-40, but Gilkey came up big with a three-pointer from the top of the key to get the lead back to nine (49-40).
Emory clawed back into it behind two three-pointers by Hannah Lilly to get the lead down to five at 57-52, but back-to-back threes by Thompson and Gilkey made it 63-52 with 5:24 remaining. Lilly, who had 14 second-half points, went down with an injury late in the game and did not return.
Savannah Morgan led Emory with 16 points, while Michelle Beven also scored in double figures with 10 points off the bench. Emory shot 37.7 percent (26-69) in the loss, and hit just 6-of-18 from three-point range.
Washington U. returns home to begin the second half of the conference schedule by hosting the University of Rochester at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7. The Bears then take on Emory at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series against Emory 44-6 … Emory's only home loss in the past two seasons has been to Washington U. … WUSTL is 16-0 this season when leading at half … The Bears have outrebounded 40 of their last 46 opponents, including 16 out of 18 this season … Johanson has scored in double figures in 12 games off the bench this season, including 10 of the last 11 … The Bears are 13-2 on Super Bowl Sunday since 2000.