Louisville, Ky., Nov. 16, 2013 – Four players scored in double figures as the No. 2-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team earned an 88-57 win at Spalding University to open the season Saturday afternoon.
Spalding built an early 11-6 lead in the opening four minutes, but Washington U. answered with an 8-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 14-13 lead on a layup by sophomore Katybeth Biewen. The Bears pushed the lead to 24-14 with 8:10 remaining in the first half after a three-point play by junior Steph Vukotic and a basket by junior Alyssa Johanson. The Golden Eagles got a basket on their next possession to cut the lead to single digits (24-16), but the Bears pulled away with a 12-3 run over the next 3:40 to extend the lead to 38-19. A layup by sophomore Jordan Thompson gave Washington U. its biggest lead of the first half at 47-24 with less than a minute to play, but a pair of free throws by Spalding made the score 47-26 at halftime.
In the second half, Spalding trimmed the Bears' lead to 52-38 with 16:39 remaining, but back-to-back baskets by Johanson and a pair of free throws by senior Lucy Montgomery made it a 20-point lead just more than two minutes later. The Golden Eagles were unable to get closer than 17 points the remainder of the game, and Washington U. held Spalding without a basket for more than four minutes as the Bears took their largest lead of the game at 82-49 on a basket by senior Jessy Rosen with 5:35 to play, before finishing with the 88-57 win.
Washington U. shot 53.2 percent (33-of-62) from the field in the game, while Spalding finished with 34.5 percent (19-of-55) field-goal shooting. The Bears outrebounded the Golden Eagles 41-28, and forced Spalding to commit 17 turnovers in the game.
Twelve different players scored for the Bears in the game. Graduate student Kristin Anda led Washington U. with 17 points and six rebounds, which was just two points shy of her career-high. Thompson and junior Melissa Gilkey added 14 points each. Gilkey also pulled down six rebounds, while Thompson dished out a team-best five assists. Johanson chipped in with 11 points off the bench, and Montgomery finished with eight, including 2-of-4 from three-point range.
Washington U. (1-0) returns to action at the Paul F. Knueppel Classic hosted by Wisconsin Lutheran College Friday-Saturday, Nov. 22-23. The Bears face host Wisconsin Lutheran at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, in Milwaukee before taking on Hiram College at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. is 24-4 in season openers during head coach Nancy Fahey's 28-year tenure … It was the 640th win of Fahey's career (640-118, .844) … The Bears are 2-0 all-time against Spalding … It was the 20th double-digit scoring game of Anda's career.