Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan. 27, 2017 – The No. 11 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team outlasted No. 9 Carnegie Mellon University 78-73 in a tightly contested University Athletic Association (UAA) road game on Friday evening.
WashU improved its record to 15-2 overall and 4-2 in UAA play while CMU fell to an identical record of 15-2 overall and 4-2 within the UAA. Following today's action there is a four way tie in the UAA for first place between Carnegie Mellon, Chicago, WashU and Rochester.
The Bears held the Tartans to below 40 percent from the field on 25 of 64 shots (39.1 percent). WashU also held a 43-38 advantage in rebounding while causing 10 turnovers compared to just eight made by the Bears. The WashU bench outscored CMU 29-9.
The Tartans shot 31.3 percent from the floor in the first quarter as WashU worked its way to a 17-12 advantage. Senior Jenn Dynis and sophomore Madeline Homoly had four points apiece to lead the Bears in the low scoring quarter.
Homoly gave WashU a nine-point lead with 7:23 to go in the second quarter on a layup assisted by senior Zoe Vernon. WashU maintained a nine-point advantage with free throws from junior Natalie Orr and a jumper by Vernon but the Tartans continued chipping away at the Bears lead.
The Tartans cut the lead down to two points with 1:31 to go in the half before Dynis sank two free throws and added a lay-in to put WashU ahead by six. Carnegie's Lisa Murphy scored the final basket of the half. The Bears led 33-29 as Homoly paced the Bears with 12 points.
CMU evened things up early on in the third quarter and took a three-point lead before sophomore Rachael Sondag's shot from beyond the arc tied things back up at 42-all. The Bears stayed even with CMU throughout the quarter trading baskets back-and-forth. A last second shot from sophomore Becca Clark-Callender evened things up back up for the Bears at 55-all heading into the fourth quarter.
The score remained neutral with five minutes remaining until WashU used a 6-0 run late in the fourth quarter to pull away. Senior Lily Sarros began the run with a layup before Clark-Callender added two free throws and Orr contributed a basket in the paint which put WashU ahead 70-64. CMU answered with multiple baskets but the Bears had two makes of their own to maintain the six-point advantage. Orr added two free throws down the stretch to increase the lead to eight but CMU's Jackie Hudepohl made a jumper at the buzzer for the final 78-72 score.
Homoly led the Bears with 18 points as Orr (16), Dynis (13) and Vernon (13) also reached double-figures. Vernon finished the game with a double-double as she corralled 10 rebounds to tie with Sarros for the team lead. Vernon also led the team with five assists.
The Bears will finish out the weekend on the road Sunday against Case Western at 1 p.m. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.