Waltham, Mass., Feb. 19, 2016 – The No. 9-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team limited Brandeis University to 32.7 percent shooting in a 65-49 win Friday at Red Auerbach Arena in Waltham, Mass.
Senior guard Jordan Thompson scored 10 of her season-high 19 points in the first quarter, while junior forward Lily Sarros recorded her second career double-double with 14 points and a career-best 15 rebounds.
WashU improved to 19-4, 11-2 in the University Athletic Association (UAA), while Brandeis fell to 12-11, 5-7 in the UAA. The Bears remained in first place in the UAA standings, one game ahead of the University of Rochester with two games remaining.
WashU shot 43.6 percent (24of-55) from the field in the win, and outrebounded Brandeis 39-27. The Bears had a 15-5 advantage in second-chance points.
WashU's defense started strong limiting Brandeis to 1-for-5 shooting from the field with three turnovers and led 9-2 midway through the first quarter.
A put-back by Sarros gave WashU a 13-4 lead and forced a Brandeis timeout. WashU scored nine of its first 13 points off the offensive glass. Thompson scored 10 of the Bears first 20 points as WashU led 20-10 after the first quarter.
Brandeis scored the first five points of the second quarter, but a 6-0 run by WashU got the lead into double figures at 26-15 and forced a Brandeis timeout. A three-pointer by freshman guard Rachael Sondag pushed the advantage to 29-17 with 4:57 left.
WashU took a 33-19 lead into half after limiting Brandeis to 32 percent (8-for-25) shooting from the field, including 0-for-6 from three-point range. Thompson had 10 points to lead all scorers. WashU outrebounded Brandeis 24-13 and had a 9-0 advantage in second-chance points.
After not scoring in the second quarter, Thompson scored the first five points of the third quarter for WashU to extend the advantage to 38-20. The lead grew to 21 (50-29) with 48 seconds left in the third after a lay-up by Sondag.
Brandeis opened the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run with cut the lead to 52-40 with 6:11 left and forced a timeout by WashU. The Judges would get the deficit down to nine, but that would be as close as they would get.
Maria Jackson led Brandeis with 12 points.
WashU continues its East Coast swing with a road contest at No. 22 New York University on Sunday, Feb. 21, at 2 p.m. (ET).
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU is 52-3 all-time against Brandeis, and the Bears have won each of the last 16 meetings between the two teams … The win for the Class of 2016 was its 90th … The Bears have recorded 19 or more wins in 29-straight seasons under head coach Nancy Fahey … Brandeis is 8-5 at home this season.