St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 10, 2013 - Twelve different players scored for the No. 2-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team and the Bears scored 35 points off 28 Fontbonne University turnovers as they rolled to an 83-53 win at Fontbonne Tuesday evening.
Washington U. shot 49.3 percent (34-69) from the field in the game, compared with 39.6 percent (21-53) for the Griffins. The Bears forced Fontbonne to commit 28 turnovers, including a season-high 17 steals for WUSTL, which led to a 35-13 advantage in points off turnovers. After being outrebounded in the first half, Washington U. finished with a 37-34 edge on the boards in the game.
Junior guard Alyssa Johanson scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the first half off the bench for the Bears, finishing just one point shy of her career-high. She also equaled her career-highs with six rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Lucy Montgomery finished with 13 points and two steals, while junior forward Melissa Gilkey added 10 points, six rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Maddy Scheppers and senior forward Jordan Rettig chipped in with eight points and four rebounds each.
Washington U. jumped out to a 15-1 lead with scoring by six different players in the first six minutes of the game. The Bears held Fontbonne without a field goal until the 13:56 mark, but Washingotn U. extended its lead to 20-4 with another 5-0 run. The Bears continued to pull away throughout the remainder of the half, stretching the lead to as many as 21 at 44-23 with 2:03 left in the half before heading to halftime with a 46-25 lead.
In the second half, Fontbonne scored the first basket, but Washington U. went on a 16-0 run, including a four-point play and a three-pointer by Montgomery on back-to-back possessions, as the Bears made it 62-27 with 14:02 left in the game. Washington U. stretched the lead to 83-42 with 3:51 remaining, before Fontbonne scored the final 11 points of the contest to make the final score 83-53.
Washington U. improved to 7-1 on the season with the win, while Fontbonne dropped to 3-3. The Bears return home to the WU Field House to host Loras College Saturday, Dec. 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series against Fontbonne 34-4, and the Bears have won the past 13 meetings in a row … It was the sixth time this season that at least 10 different players have scored for the Bears … The two three-pointers for Montgomery brought her career total to 70.