Manhattan, N.Y., Feb. 11, 2018 – The Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team could not hold onto a 14-point fourth quarter lead as the Bears suffered an 82-79 overtime loss at New York University Sunday at Hunter College in Manhattan, N.Y.
New York improved to 13-9 and 6-5 in the University Athletic Association (UAA), while WashU had its four-game win streak snapped and dropped to 16-6 and 7-4 in the league.
Junior forward Madeline Homoly led the Bears with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while junior guard Rachael Sondag added 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Junior guard Becca Clark-Callender added 13 points and junior forward Stephanie Botkin had 10 points and eight rebounds. WashU shot 49.1 percent (28-of-57) from the field but turned the ball over 20 times.
WashU hit five of its first six shots from the field and let 12-0 three minutes into the contest. Botkin came off the bench to hit a lay-up as the lead grew to 18-5. The Bears hit eight of their first nine from the field and led 18-10 after the first quarter.
New York got back into the contest with an 8-0 run to trim the lead to 18-13. The Violets tied the contest at 24-24, but Sondag canned a three-pointer from the corner and then Homoly scored on a driving lay-up to put WashU 29-24.
The Violets ended the half on a 12-3 run to take a 36-32 lead to the locker room. WashU shot 50 percent (13-of-26) for the half, but turned the ball over 12 times. Sondag had 11 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting.
WashU started the second half just like the first, with a 15-2 run to take a 47-38 lead with 6:34 to play in the third and force an NYU timeout. Senior guard Shelby Mann recorded an old-fashioned three-point play, and Botkin and Sondag nailed threes during the run.
Clark-Callender came off the bench and gave the Bears a much-needed lift in the third. She scored nine-straight points, which included a three-pointer and a pull-up jumper, to give the Bears a 56-44 lead. WashU outscored New York 25-9 in the third, including nine-straight points from Clark-Callender. The Bears hit 9-of-12 shots from the field in the quarter.
NYU clawed back into the contest to make it a four-point game, and then a three-pointer by Kaitlyn Read made it a one-point game (69-68) with 13.5 seconds left. After Homoly made 1-of-2 free-throws, Read drove to the basket and scored with 3.5 left to send the game to OT.
In overtime, Kayla Patterson took over the game for NYU scoring seven of the 12 points. WashU led 79-78 with 55 seconds left, but Olivia Linebarger converted a three-point play with 32 seconds left to give the Violets the lead for good.
Read finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Patterson had 23 points and five rebounds. NYU shot 43.9 percent (29-of-66) from the field, including 3-of-5 in the extra frame.
WashU opens a two-game homestand against Case Western Reserve University (4-17, 1-10 UAA) on Friday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m.
BEAR NOTEBOOK
• WashU has a 44-18 advantage in the series, and had a four-game win streak snapped
• The Bears suffered their first loss of the season when outrebounding an opponent
• WashU is 0-3 when trailing at half
• Sondag increased her career three-point total to 141, sixth most in school history