St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 8, 2013 - The No. 12-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team outscored No. 20 Emory University 36-14 over a 16-minute span midway through the game to take control and help the Bears to a 65-54 win Friday night in University Athletic Association (UAA) action at the WU Field House.
Washington U. (18-3, 8-2 UAA) moved into a tie for first place in the UAA standings with Emory (18-3, 8-2 UAA) and the University of Rochester (16-5, 8-2 UAA). The Bears gave Emory both of their losses in conference play. Washington U. concludes its four-game homestand by hosting Rochester at 2 p.m. Sunday. Rochester defeated the University of Chicago 58-37 Friday night. The Yellowjackets upset the Bears, 56-48, Jan. 13 in Rochester, N.Y.
Emory built an early 13-5 lead in the first seven minutes of the game as Washington U. opened the game shooting 2-of-11 from the field. Back-to-back jumpers by sophomore guard Alyssa Johanson cut the Eagles' lead to 13-9 and forced Emory to call a timeout with 9:42 left in the half. The Eagles answered with an 8-1 run to take their largest lead of the half at 22-10 with 5:38 remaining.
A three-pointer by junior guard Lucy Montgomery and a basket by junior forward Jordan Rettig forced another Emory timeout with less than five minutes left in the first half. After a layup by Emory made it 24-16 with 3:27 to play, the Bears went on a 13-2 run to finish the half and head to the locker room with a 29-26 lead. Washington U. tied the game at 26-26 on a second three-pointer by Montgomery, and a second-chance jumper by Johanson on an inbounds play gave the Bears their first lead of the game with 40 seconds on the clock. During Washington U.'s run in the final 3:27 of the half, the Bears held Emory to 1-of-5 shooting from the field, and outrebounded the Eagles 7-0.
The Eagles scored the first basket of the second half to make it a one-point game, but a three-pointer by sophomore guard Maddy Scheppers and a four-point play by sophomore forward Melissa Gilkey quickly made it 36-28 in favor of the Bears with 16:31 left. Emory pulled to within five at 41-33, before Johanson drained a three-pointer. The Eagles again cut the lead to five on three made free throws, but Montgomery answered with her third triple of the game and a second-chance layup by Scheppers pushed Washington U.'s lead back to double digits (46-36) with 11:31 remaining.
A second-chance layup by Emory brought the Eagles within nine (51-42) with 7:52 to play, but Gilkey converted a three-point play on the Bears' next possession to push the lead back to 12 (54-42). A fast-break jumper by sophomore guard Alexandra Keane gave the Bears their largest lead of the game (61-46) with four minutes left, and the Bears maintained the double-digit lead the final seven minutes of the game to earn the 11-point win.
After shooting 37 percent in the first half, Washington U. shot 43.3 percent in the second half to finish 23-of-57 (40.4 percent) from the field in the game. Emory shot 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the field. The Bears were 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) from three-point range, while Emory was just 2-of-11 (18.2 percent) from beyond the arc, including 0-of-5 in the second half. Washington U. outrebounded the Eagles 42-35, and finished with a 20-10 advantage in second-chance points. The Bears also forced Emory to commit 18 turnovers, including 11 steals.
Johanson led the Bears with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists. Gilkey also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points. Scheppers added nine points, six rebounds and four steals, while Montgomery also scored nine points on 3-of-5 from three-point range. Senior forward Kristin Anda had a big game off the bench for the Bears, finishing with six points, a game-high nine rebounds, including five on the offensive end, and three assists. Rettig added four points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series against Emory, 43-6, and has won every meeting between the two teams ever played at the WU Field House … The Bears are 345-32 (.915) in 29 seasons of play at the WU Field House, including an 11-0 mark at home this season … The Bears have outrebounded 19 of their 21 opponents this season … The win was No. 305 all-time in the UAA for Washington U., who has a 26-year conference record of 305-48 (.864) … Washington U. improved to 2-1 against ranked opponents this season … Gilkey had one blocked shot, bringing her to within two blocks of entering Washington U.'s all-time career top-10 list … Gilkey has scored in double figures in 20 of 21 games this season … The loss stopped a seven-game win streak for Emory, dating to Jan. 11 when Washington U. defeated the Eagles 56-53 in overtime in Atlanta … The Eagles entered the game ranked sixth in Division III with a +10.45 turnover margin, but finished -3 in turnovers against the Bears.