Greencastle, Ind., Dec. 1, 2013 - The No. 2-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team was unable to overcome a double-digit halftime deficit as the Bears lost 74-62 at No. 1 DePauw University in the championship game of the Midwest Challenge Sunday afternoon.
DePauw shot 50 percent (17-34) from the field, including 6-of-10 from three-point range to build a double-digit lead in the first half. The Bears led 13-11 with 11:10 to play in the half after a baseline jumper by senior forward Jordan Rettig, but a 12-0 run by the Tigers, including three consecutive three-pointers, gave DePauw a 23-13 lead with 7:40 remaining. A three-pointer by sophomore guard Jordan Thompson ended the scoring drought for Washington U. and cut the deficit to seven, but the Tigers pushed their lead to 16 (38-22) with their sixth three-pointer of the half. A second-chance layup by senior forward Kristin Anda and a three-point play by Anda made it 42-27 in favor of DePauw. A layup by the Tigers with three seconds left in the half made it 44-27, but Thompson hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer, her third triple of the half, to make the halftime score 42-30.
The Tigers extended their lead to 16 points (52-36) with 16:23 left in the game. The Bears answered with a 10-2 run, including a pair of layups by junior guard Maddy Scheppers to make it 54-46. After DePauw hit a pair of bonus free throws, Scheppers drained her second three-pointer of the half to bring the Bears to within 60-54 with 6:56 left. DePauw junior guard Savannah Trees scored nine of the next 12 points in the game, as the Tigers got their largest lead of the contest at 72-54 with 3:42 left. The Bears went on an 8-0 run, including four points by Scheppers, to pull to within 10 in the final minute, but DePauw made a pair of free throws with 20.8 seconds left to finish with the 74-62 win.
Washington U. shot 41 percent (25-61) from the field in the game, including 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) from three-point range. DePauw was 28-of-60 (46.7 percent) from the field, including 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc. After outrebounding the Bears 20-15 in the first half, DePauw finished with a 36-33 edge in the game.
Scheppers finished with a season-high 16 points, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, to lead three players in double figures for Washington U. Rettig had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Anda added 11 points and nine rebounds. Thompson tallied nine points on 3-of-6 from three-point range, and a season-high six assists.
Washington U. dropped to 4-1 on the season. The Bears return to action by hosting the McWilliams Classic Friday-Saturday, Dec. 6-7. Washington U. takes on Augustana College (Ill.) at 5 p.m. Friday in the first home game of the season for the Bears.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series against DePauw 18-8, but the Tigers have won the past four meetings … DePauw has a 40-game winning streak and has won 59 consecutive regular-season games … It was just the fifth time in the last 33 games that Washington U. has been outrebounded.