St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 3, 2013 - The No. 12-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team outrebounded Case Western Reserve University 61-36, outscoring the Spartans 16-0 in second-chance points, as the Bears earned a 58-35 win in University Athletic Association (UAA) action Sunday at the WU Field House.
Washington University improved to 17-3 overall and 7-2 in the UAA, moving into a tie for second place in the UAA standings with the University of Rochester. Emory University sits in first place in the conference standings with an 8-1 mark in the UAA.
Junior forward Jordan Rettig recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 points and a season-best 12 rebounds for the Bears. Sophomore forward Melissa Gilkey led all players in the game with 14 points, while also recording eight rebounds, two blocked shots and three steals. Junior guard Lucy Montgomery also had a big game for the Bears with five rebounds, a career-high nine rebounds and one block.
Gilkey scored 11 of the Bears' first 13 points of the game, giving Washington U. a 13-5 lead with 14:08 remaining in the first half. The Bears pushed the lead to 12 points (19-7) on a layup by sophomore center Steph Vukotic with 11:20 to play. Case cut the lead to eight (21-13) on a free throw with 7:47 left in the half. The Bears held Case without a field goal for 8:26, and the Spartans were 0-of-10 from the field during that span. Meanwhile, Washington U. extended its lead to 33-16 with 24 seconds left, on a layup by Rettig, who finished the half with nine points and nine rebounds. A three-pointer by Julie Mooney with five seconds left in the half ended the field-goal drought for the Spartans and made the score 33-19 in favor of the Bears at halftime.
The Bears outrebounded Case 35-16 in the first half, including 16 offensive boards that led to an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points. Washington U. shot 28.2 percent (11-of-39) from the field in the half, but converted 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) from the free-throw line. Case was limited to 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from the free-throw line in the opening half.
Washington U. scored the first six points of the second half, including a three-pointer by senior guard Nishi Tavernier, and pushed its lead to 20 points (39-19) with 16:48 left in the game. The Spartans pulled to within 16 (41-25) with 12:03 remaining, but the Bears quickly pushed it to 21 (48-27) in the next three minutes after Montgomery grabbed an offensive rebound and drained a three-pointer. The lead grew to as many as 25 points (52-27) on a baseline drive by sophomore guard Maddy Scheppers with less than four minutes left, before finishing with the 23-point win.
Washington U. shot 31 percent (22-of-71) from the field in the game, while Case finished with a season-low 21.8 percent (12-of-55) shooting from the field. The Bears pulled down 61 rebounds, just one shy of their season-high, including 22 offensive rebounds. Case finished with 36 rebounds, including just seven on the offensive glass.
Washington U. (17-3, 7-2 UAA) continues its four-game homestand with a pair of home games next weekend. The Bears host Emory University (18-2, 8-1 UAA) at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, before taking on the University of Rochester (15-5, 7-2 UAA) at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series against Case Western Reserve, 39-1, and avenged last week's 72-68 loss to the Spartans in Cleveland, Ohio … The Bears are 344-32 (.915) in 29 seasons of play at the WU Field House, including a 10-0 mark at home this season … Washington U. held Case's Evy Iacono, the UAA's leading scorer (18.2 ppg), to just two points on a pair of free throws … Iacono finished 0-of-11 from the field … Case is 4-5 in road games this season, and has been held below 60 points in six of those games … Gilkey's two blocks brought her career total to 56, just three shy of entering Washington U.'s top-10 career leaderboard.