St. Louis, Mo., February 20, 2011 – The No. 9 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team picked up its 20th win of the season in a 79-47 victory over Brandeis University in University Athletic Association (UAA) play on Sunday afternoon in St. Louis, Mo. Washington University improves to 20-4, 11-2 in the UAA, while Brandeis falls to 11-13, 3-10 in league play.
Washington University head coach Nancy Fahey has now won at least 20 games in 21 of her 25 seasons at Washington U., which includes 14 of her last 15 campaigns. Fahey is 591-104 (.850) in 25 seasons on the Danforth Campus.
Senior Kathryn Berger led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, while sophomores Kristin Anda and Annie Sayers and freshman Jordan Rettig added 10 points apiece. Senior Alex Hoover dished out six assists in the victory, upping her career total to 411. Hoover is just 16 assists away from tying the all-time mark of 427 set by Sarah Schell (2003-07).
Berger had the hot hand early on for the Bears, as she scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Washington U. held onto a 20-12 lead, but a three-pointer from the corner by sophomore Brianne Monahan and then back-to-back triples from Berger made it 29-14 with 7:42 remaining.
Berger continued to torch the nets, as her mid-range jumper and a pair of free-throws extended Washington U.'s lead to 41-22. She finished the first half with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, as WUSTL shot 50 percent (15-30) from the field and had 11 assists and just five turnovers. The Bears forced 12 turnovers in the first half, and turned that into a 13-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Bears scored the first seven points of the second half to extend their run from the end of the first half to 11-0, as they took a 50-22 lead. WUSTL got the lead to 35 (59-24) with 15:25 remaining following a pair of free-throws and a lay-up by Anda.
Washington University limited Brandeis to just 35.3 percent shooting and 18 field goals. Washington U. held a 45-31 edge in rebounding and outscored the Judges 25-9 off of turnovers and 23-7 in second-chance opportunities.
Washington University (20-4, 12-2 UAA) will play its regular season finale on Saturday, Feb. 26, against No. 8 University of Chicago at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Mo., at 1 p.m. Prior to the game, the Bears will honor their six members of the Class of 2011, who will be playing in the final home game of their careers.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. has outrebounded 23-of-24 opponents this season … The Bears lead the all-time series against Brandeis, 43-3 … Washington University has swept the season series with Brandeis for three-straight seasons and the Bears have won seven-straight games in the series … Dating back to the 2008-09 season, the Bears have won 40-straight home games.