St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 10, 2013 - The No. 12-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team was unable to match the University of Rochester's season-high 55.4 percent field-goal shooting as the Yellowjackets handed Washington U. a 93-74 loss in University Athletic Association (UAA) action Sunday afternoon.
Washington U. dropped to 18-4 overall and 8-3 in the UAA with the loss, while Rochester improved to 17-5 overall and 9-2 in the UAA. The Yellowjackets are tied with Emory University (19-3, 9-2 UAA) atop the UAA standings, while Washington U. sits one game behind.
Rochester led from start to finish in the game, and shot a season-best 55.4 percent (31-of-56) from the field, including 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) from three-point range. Washington U. was limited to 27.9 percent (19-of-68) shooting from the field, and 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The Bears finished 29-of-40 (72.5 percent) from the free-throw line, including 24-of-30 in the second half, while Rochester converted 20-of-28 free-throw attempts. The Yellowjackets also finished with a 45-39 rebounding advantage in the game.
Sophomore forward Melissa Gilkey led Washington U. with a game-high 24 points, just one off her career-high, and five rebounds. Freshman guard Jordan Thompson added 15 points, also one shy of her career-high, four rebounds and a career-high three steals. Junior forward Jordan Rettig also scored in double figures, finishing with 11 points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Maddy Scheppers added three points, a team-high six rebounds, and three steals.
Rochester led throughout the first half, taking a 4-0 lead to start the game as Washington U. missed its first four shots of the game. The Yellowjackets held a 9-4 lead before five-straight points by sophomore guard Alyssa Johanson tied the game at 9-9 with 14:38 left in the half. A three-pointer by Rochester gave the Yellowjackets a 14-9 lead, before a three-pointer from the wing by Thompson ended a 3:40 scoring drought for the Bears and made it 14-12 with 10:30 to play.
Rettig drained the first three-pointer of her career to cut the UR lead to 17-15 with 8:19 left in the half, but the Yellowjackets answered with a 10-2 run, including a pair of three-pointers to take a 27-17 lead. Rochester grabbed its largest lead of the half 49 seconds before halftime, taking a 38-25 lead into the locker room.
The Yellowjackets stretched their lead to 19 points (44-25) to start the second half, before a layup by Gilkey ended a scoring drought that had lasted 5:29. Rochester answered with a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the game at 53-29 with 15:34 remaining. Washington U. cut the lead to 18 six times over the next 10 minutes, but a pair of free throws gave Rochester an 81-61 lead with 4:58 to play. The Bears scored seven points in the next 35 seconds, including back-to-back steals by Thompson that led to back-to-back three-pointers by Thompson and Gilkey, to pull to within 13 (81-68) with 4:23 to play. After a timeout, Rochester scored the next five points to quickly push the lead back to 18, and Washington U. was unable to get closer than 14 the remainder of the game.
Washington U. (18-4, 8-3 UAA) returns to action with its final regular-season roadtrip next weekend. The Bears travel to New York University (8-14, 1-10 UAA) at 6 p.m. (ET) Friday, Feb. 15, and finish their road schedule at Brandeis University (8-14, 2-9 UAA) at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday, Feb. 17.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series against Rochester, 40-13, but the Yellowjackets have won three of the past four meetings … It marked the first time in school history that Rochester swept the season series against the Bears … The loss was the first at home this season for the Bears, and just the ninth UAA loss at home in 26 seasons… It marked just the third time this season that Washington U. has been outrebounded … Gilkey has scored in double figures in 21 of 22 games this season … The Yellowjackets entered the game shooting 29.7 percent from three-point range this season.