St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 17, 2014 – The No. 2-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team made a season-high 12 three-pointers as the Bears pulled away for a 73-49 win over Brandeis University in University Athletic Association (UAA) action Friday night at the WU Field House.
Washington U. (12-1, 2-0 UAA) finishes its four-game home stand by hosting New York University (13-0, 2-0 UAA) at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19. The Violets rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to earn an 89-87 win at the University of Chicago Friday. Brandeis dropped to 6-7 overall and 0-2 in the UAA with the loss to Washington U.
After leading by four at halftime, the Bears scored three fastbreak layups in the first two minutes of the second half to extend their lead to 37-29. The Judges pulled to within 39-35 with 15:22 left in the game, but a 12-2 run by the Bears, including three-pointers on back-to-back possessions by junior guard Maddy Scheppers, extended the lead to 51-39. A pullup jumper by junior guard Alyssa Johanson and three three-pointers by senior guard Lucy Montgomery pushed the lead to 62-41 with 6:20 remaining. Junior forward Melissa Gilkey scored the next five points for the Bears to make it 67-45 before Washington U. finished with the 24-point win.
Washington U. held Brandeis to 1-of-9 shooting from the field and forced six turnovers in the first five minutes of the game as the Bears jumped out to a 15-2 lead. The Judges scored the next 11 points of the game to cut the deficit to 15-13. A three-pointer by Scheppers ended a six-minute scoring drought for Washington U. and made it 18-13 in favor of the Bears. A three from the top of the arc by Gilkey made the score 21-15, but Brandeis went on a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 22-21 with 5:22 left in the half.
Sophomore guard Jordan Thompson hit her third three-pointer of the game to regain a 24-22 lead for Washington U., but Brandeis scored on a layup with the shot clock about to run out to tie the game. Thompson made a three from the baseline, then dished at the last second on a fastbreak to Gilkey for a layup to make it 29-24 in favor of the Bears. Johanson hit a pair of free throws with less than a minute to play to give the Bears a 31-24 lead, but Kasey Dean's second three of the night for Brandeis made it 31-27 in favor of Washington U. at halftime.
Washington U. shot 39.1 percent (27-69) from the field in the game, including 12-of- 25 from beyond the arc. Brandeis shot 34.4 percent (21-61) from the field and was just 2-of-8 from three-point range. The Bears outrebounded Brandeis 52-36, including a 33-14 advantage in the second half.
Scheppers and Thompson each scored 16 points to lead the Bears, combining for 8-of-15 from three-point range. Thompson also had five rebounds, six assists and two steals, while Scheppers dished out a career-high five assists. Gilkey scored 14 points, including nine in the second half, and pulled down nine rebounds, while Montgomery finished with nine points and senior forward Kristin Anda added six points and nine rebounds.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series against Brandeis 48-3, and has won the last 12 meetings between the two teams … The 12 three-pointers by the Bears was just one shy of the school record set against Brandeis in 2003 … Washington U.'s 73 points was the most allowed in a game by Brandeis this season, while the Judges' 49 points was their second-lowest total … WUSTL improved to 171-9 (.950) all-time in UAA games at the WU Field House … Washington U. is 12-0 this season when leading at the half … The Bears have outrebounded their opponents in all 12 wins this season.