St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 29, 2012 – Sophomore forward Melissa Gilkey recorded her third double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the No. 5-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team to a 77-57 win at Webster University Saturday afternoon.
The Bears got off to a slow start offensively, missing their first seven shots from the floor, as Webster jumped out to a 9-4 lead with 15:20 left in the first half. Washington U. found its groove and a second-chance shot by freshman guard Katybeth Biewen gave the Bears their first lead of the game, 10-9, with 12:55 left in the half. Biewen followed with a layup to make it 12-9, before Webster hit its second of eight three-pointers in the game to tie the score at 12-12.
Junior guard Lucy Montgomery drained a three to give the Bears the lead back for good, 15-12, with 10:13 remaining in the first half. Webster pulled to within 15-14 on a basket with 9:58 left in the half, before another three by Montgomery sparked an 8-0 run by Washington U. over the next two minutes. A second-chance layup by Gilkey extended the Bears' lead to 27-17 with 5:31 to play, and Washington U. stretched its lead to 17 points (45-28) on another second-chance basket by Gilkey in the final minute of the half. The Bears overcame their slow start to shoot 15-of-37 (40.5 percent) from the field in the first half.
Webster cut the lead to 11 (45-34) early in the second half, but was unable to get to within single digits as the Bears maintained their lead the remainder of the game. A layup by sophomore center Steph Vukotic gave Washington U. its largest lead of the game (73-53) with 4:45 left, before finishing with the 77-57 win.
Washington U. shot 39.7 percent from the field (29-of-73) in the game. The Bears also shot 15-of-21 from the free-throw line, including 12-of-14 in the first half. Webster finished the game shooting 31.1 percent from the field, including 8-of-19 from beyond the arc. The Gorloks also finished 11-of-13 from the free-throw line, including 9-of-10 in the second half. The Bears, who held a 28-14 rebounding advantage at halftime, finished with a 52-41 edge on the glass in the game. Washington U. took advantage of 15 Webster turnovers to outscore the Gorloks 17-4 in points off turnovers, and the Bears also outscored the Gorloks 21-9 in second-chance points.
Gilkey equaled her season-high with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Biewen scored 11 of her career-high 13 points in the first half, and also pulled down a career-high five rebounds. Biewen was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line in the first half. Montgomery also finished in double figures for the Bears with 10 points, including three three-pointers. Senior forward Kristin Anda added nine points and six rebounds, while junior forward Jordan Rettig finished with six points, 11 rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots. Freshman guard Jordan Thompson accounted for six of the Bears' 12 assists in the game.
Washington U. (9-1) concludes its non-conference schedule Sunday, Dec. 30, when the Bears host Southwestern University (Texas). Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the WU Field House.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series between the two teams 13-1 … It was the eighth game this season, and seventh in a row, that the Bears have scored 70 or more points … Washington U. has outrebounded its opponents in all nine wins, and has a season rebounding margin of +15.7 … The Bears recorded a season-high seven blocked shots against the Gorloks … Gilkey has scored in double-figures in each of the Bears' 10 games this season, and the past 13 in a row in her career.