St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 4, 2014 – The No. 2-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team had four players score in double figures and forced a season-high 29 turnovers as the Bears closed non-conference play with an 80-47 win over Webster University Saturday afternoon.
After leading by 13 at halftime, Washington U. went 6-of-6 from three-point range in the first nine minutes of the second half to break the game open. The Gorloks cut the lead to 38-29 with 18:11 remaining, but senior guard Lucy Montgomery and junior guard Maddy Scheppers hit back-to-back three-pointers to start a 22-3 run for the Bears that gave them a 60-32 lead with 11:33 left. The decisive run included two more threes by Montgomery and a pair of triples by junior forward Melissa Gilkey. A layup by sophomore guard Amanda Martinez gave Washington U. its largest lead of the game at 76-42 with 6:00 on the clock, before the Bears finished with the 80-47 win.
Washington U. grabbed a 6-0 lead in the opening five minutes of the game, limiting Webster to just one field-goal attempt while forcing eight turnovers. The Bears took a 16-7 lead on a three-pointer by Montgomery with 11:28 left in the first half, but Webster answered with a three to make it a six-point game. After a timeout by the Gorloks, Scheppers hit a three and senior forward Jordan Rettig made back-to-back layups to push the lead to 13 with 8:15 remaining in the half. The Bears pushed their lead to 32-14 on a layup by Rettig with 3:28 remaining, but Webster ended the half with a 9-4 run to make the score 36-23 at halftime.
The Bears shot 45.5 percent (30-66) from the field in the game, including 51.5 percent in the second half. They made a season-high nine three-pointers, including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc in the second half. Webster finished with 37.5 percent (18-48) shooting from the field, and was 4-of-11 from three-point range. The Bears turned 29 Webster turnovers into a 29-9 advantage in points off turnovers, and also finished with a 39-36 edge in rebounding. Washington U. added season-highs of 25 assists and 18 steals in the win.
Gilkey led the Bears with 16 points, including 3-of-3 from three-point range, and also had a season-high three steals. Junior guard Alyssa Johanson, Montgomery and Rettig each scored 12 points for Washington U. Rettig, who had 10 points in the first half, shot 5-of-7 from the field and also pulled down four rebounds. Montgomery scored her 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range, which brought her career total to 76 three-pointers made. In addition to her 12 points off the bench, Johanson also equaled her season-high with three assists. Scheppers added eight points and three steals, while junior center Steph Vukotic led the Bears with six rebounds in nine minutes of playing time. Sophomore guard Katybeth Biewen dished out a career-high seven assists, while sophomore guard Jordan Thompson finished with five.
Washington U. improved to 10-1 with the win and continues its four-game homestand when the Bears open University Athletic Association (UAA) play Saturday, Jan. 11, against the University of Chicago. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the WU Field House.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series against Webster 14-1, and has won the last 10 games between the two teams … The Bears have outrebounded their opponents in all 10 wins this season … Johanson has scored in double digits in each of the last four games … Montgomery is 15 three-pointers shy of entering Washington U.'s career top-10 list.