Memphis, Tenn., March 1, 2013 – The No. 21-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team held the University of Texas at Dallas scoreless over the final 6:40 of the game, and senior forward Kristin Anda made a pair of free throws with 22.9 seconds left to seal the Bears' 45-40 win over the Comets in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Friday evening at Rhodes College.
Washington U. improved to 21-5 on the season, while Texas-Dallas ended its season with a 20-9 record. The Bears will play host Rhodes College in the NCAA Second Round at 5 p.m. Saturday. Rhodes earned a 59-58 win over Louisiana College in Friday's second first-round game.
"I told the team after the game that one of the toughest games to win in the tournament is the first one," head coach Nancy Fahey said. "I thought the kids did a great job defensively, and I'll give credit to the defense that UT-Dallas put on us."
Washington U. shot 31.1 percent (19-of-61) from the field in the game, and was held without a three-pointer for the third time this season. Texas-Dallas finished with 34.1 percent (15-of-44), and just 1-of-7 from three-point range. The Bears finished 7-of-13 from the free-throw line, while the Comets were 9-of-11. Washington U. also had a 40-36 edge in rebounding, including an 18-8 advantage on the offensive glass. The Bears outscored UTD 20-4 in second-chance points.
Anda had a season-high 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals to lead Washington U. in the win. Junior forward Jordan Rettig added eight points and seven rebounds, while sophomore forward Melissa Gilkey tallied seven points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Junior forward Morgan Kilgore led UTD with 12 points, while senior guard Katie Korioth added four points, a game-high 11 rebounds and three steals for the Comets.
After leading 26-23 at halftime, sophomore guard Alyssa Johanson drove for a layup to give the Bears their largest lead of the game, 28-23 with 19:49 to play. Texas-Dallas went on an 11-0 run over the next five minutes to turn the deficit into a 34-28 lead. A second-chance jumper by Rettig ended the scoring drought for Washington U. and made it 34-30 with 14:35 remaining. Freshman guard Jordan Thompson made a pair of free throws and Anda got a second-chance layup to bring the Bears to within 36-34 before the Comets made a basket to regain a four-point (38-34) lead with 10:34 remaining.
After a media timeout with 9:36, Anda made a baseline jumper, then got fouled after grabbing a steal. She made one of two free throws to give Washington U. a 39-38 lead. UTD made a pair of free throws to regain the lead, 40-39, with 6:40 left in the game. The Comets maintained the one-point lead until a second-chance layup by Rettig gave the Bears a 41-40 lead. A second-chance layup by sophomore guard Maddy Scheppers extended Washington U.'s lead to 43-40 with 59.9 seconds on the clock. The Bears forced a turnover on UTD's next possession and Anda was fouled on the inbounds. She made both of the one-and-one free throws with 22.9 seconds left to seal the 45-40 win for the Bears.
"I've been struggling with free throws for awhile now, but toward the end of the conference season I finally got myself out of it," Anda said. "I wanted to go up and knock them down, and I did. I was just happy to help out my team."
The first half was back-and-forth throughout, with six ties and eight lead changes. Washington U. built its largest lead of the half (9-5) on a basket by Gilkey with 13:30 left in the half. Texas-Dallas scored the next four points to tie the score at the second media timeout, and the teams exchanged leads until a pair of free throws gave the Comets a 21-20 advantage with 3:18 left in the half. Gilkey hit an off-balance basket late in the shot clock on the Bears' next possession, and Anda made a layup after a steal by Thompson to put the Bears ahead 24-21 with 2:06 to play. Korioth got a long rebound and sprinted for a layup to make it 24-23 with 19 seconds left, but Thompson found Anda under the basket for a layup to give the Bears a three-point lead (26-23) at halftime.
Bear Notebook: It was the first-ever meeting between Washington U. and Texas-Dallas … Washington U. improved to 18-3 when leading at halftime this season … Washington U. has an all-time record of 61-21 in 25 NCAA Tournament appearances … The Bears improved to 698-180 all-time in 34 seasons of women's basketball … Gilkey's three blocks brought her career total to 64, which is four shy of moving into a tie for eighth on Washington U.'s all-time career leaderboard … The Bears have outrebounded 23 of their 26 opponents.