St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 15, 2012 – The No. 5-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team used balanced scoring and strong rebounding to improve to 8-1 with a 79-53 win over Spalding University Saturday afternoon at the WU Field House.
The Bears jumped out to a 9-2 lead behind six points by sophomore forward Melissa Gilkey and an 11-0 rebounding advantage in the first four minutes of the game. After a fast-break pullup jumper and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Alexandra Keane stretched Washington U.'s lead to 14-5, Spalding answered with a three-pointer to make it 14-8 with 13:24 left in the first half. The Bears then went on a 15-0 run, holding the Golden Eagles scoreless for more than six minutes to open up a 29-8 lead with 8:25 on the clock. Spalding closed the gap to 15 points four times in the remainder of the half, before a three-pointer by freshman guard Katybeth Biewen gave the Bears a 41-23 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Spalding cut the lead to 16 points (51-35) on a layup with 14:39 left in the game, but the Bears answered with a 10-1 run in the next three minutes to quickly make the score 61-36. Washington U. stretched the lead to as many as 31 points (79-48) with less than a minute to play before the Golden Eagles scored the final five points of the contest to make the final score 79-53.
Washington U. shot 44.1 percent from the field (30-68) in the game, including 51.7 percent (15-29) in the second half. The Golden Eagles finished with 42.2 percent shooting from the field (19-45), including 47.6 percent (10-21) in the second half. The Bears finished with a 48-26 rebounding advantage in the game, after holding a 31-11 advantage at halftime, and had a season-high 26 assists. Washington U. also outscored the Golden Eagles 15-2 in fast-break points.
Gilkey led all scorers with 19 points, just two shy of her career high, while also pulling down six rebounds. Sophomore center Steph Vukotic scored eight points, while Keane, sophomore guard Maddy Scheppers and junior forward Jordan Rettig each added seven points. Scheppers grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, including six offensive, while Rettig finished with six, including five on the offensive glass. Keane's seven points were a career-high. She also equaled her career-high with six assists, and added three steals.
Washington University (8-1) has two weeks off before taking on Webster University Saturday, Dec. 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Webster's Grant Gymnasium.
Bear Notebook: The game was the first-ever meeting between the two teams … The Bears improved to 339-32 (.914) all-time at the WU Field House … It was the seventh game this season that the Bears have scored 70 or more points … Washington U. has outrebounded its opponents in all eight wins, and has a rebounding margin of +16.2 this season … Gilkey has scored in double-figures in each of the Bears' nine games in 2012, and the past 12 in a row.