St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 5, 2017 – The No. 9-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team shot a season-high 59.1 percent from the field en route to defeating Case Western Reserve University 95-66 during University Athletic Association (UAA) play on Sunday afternoon in the WU Field House.
WashU improved to 18-2 overall and 7-2 within the UAA while dropping Case to 11-9 overall and 3-6 during UAA play. The Bears and University of Chicago are tied for the UAA lead with a 7-2 record. WashU is the first program to reach 350 victories within UAA play.
The Bears shot 59.1 percent from the field (39-66) while holding the Spartans to 39.7 percent (23-58). WashU finished ahead of Case in several categories including rebounds (41-25), assists (26-15), points in the paint (50-26) and bench points (49-21).
Senior Zoe Vernon opened the game's scoring with a layup and gave the Bears a 5-2 lead on a three-pointer two minutes into the action. WashU's offense sparked and began to separate from the Spartans with six points off the bench from sophomore Madeline Homoly. Homoly's third basket put the Bears ahead 15-10 on an assist from sophomore Stephanie Botkin.
WashU increased the lead to seven points when sophomore Becca Clark-Callender swiped the ball from the Spartans before assisting on a fast break basket by junior Natalie Orr. The Spartans worked WashU's lead down to a single point twice but a final jumper from Orr gave the Bears a 21-18 advantage heading into the second quarter.
WashU opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run with a three from Orr, layup by Homoly and a jumper from senior Jenn Dynis. Homoly continued to find open looks set up by Clark-Callender and the Bears built a 47-30 halftime lead.
Homoly led the Bears at the half with 14 points while Clark-Callender contributed five assists. Vernon finished the half with five rebounds as WashU held a 20-11 advantage in rebounds.
Vernon put WashU ahead by more than 20 less than two minutes into the second half with a layup. Minutes later, Homoly connected on a shot and three free throws during a 7-0 run for WashU. The Bears expanded their lead to 73-49 prior to the start of the fourth quarter.
The Bears outscored the Spartans in all four quarters by exceeding 20 points in each quarter (21-18, 26-12, 26-19, 22-17). WashU had five players score double-digits including Homoly (24), Orr (16), Vernon (13), Botkin (13) and Dynis (12).
A total of 12 Bears had assists, including six with more than one. The Bears also had 18 players receive playing time during the victory.
WashU is hosting Emory University on Friday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. during Eliot Night prior to hosting University of Rochester on Sunday, Feb. 12 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.