St. Louis, Mo., March 4, 2016 – The No. 10-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team advanced to the Second Round of the 2016 NCAA Division III Championship with an 87-48 win over Greenville College Friday night at the WU Field House.
WashU improved to 21-5 on the season with the win, while Greenville finished its season with a 20-8 record. The Bears will face the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Saturday's Second Round at 7 p.m. The Warhawks earned a 66-54 win over No. 21 Bluffton University in Friday's first game.
The Bears jumped out to an 11-2 lead behind six early points by senior Katybeth Biewen. Greenville got a free throw and a three-pointer to cut the lead to 11-8. After the media timeout, junior Zoe Vernon hit her second three of the game to spark a 16-6 run for WashU to end a fast-paced first quarter. The Bears were 5-of-9 from three-point range in the opening quarter, including two each by Vernon and freshman Rachael Sondag and one by junior Jenn Dynis just before the buzzer. WashU remained hot from three-point range in the second quarter and Sondag's third triple gave the Bears a 41-23 advantage with 3:14 left in the half.
In the third quarter, Greenville cut the deficit to 14 at 48-34 with 7:14 remaining in the quarter. The Bears held the Panthers scoreless the remainder of the period, and outscored them 18-7 in the third quarter. Leading 63-34 after three quarters, WashU was 10-of-15 from the field, with assists on all 10 baskets, in the fourth quarter, as the Bears finished with the 39-point win.
WashU shot 50.8 percent (31-61) from the field, including 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from three-point range. Greenville finished with 40.9-percent shooting (18-44) from the field, and was 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. The Bears also forced 26 turnovers by Greenville in the game and finished with a 27-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
Junior Lily Sarros scored a career-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, to lead WashU offensively. Vernon added 13 points, while Sondag finished with 10 points and a career-high five rebounds. Senior Jordan Thompson dished out a season-high 10 assists for the Bears, and senior Amanda Martinez finished with six of WashU's 13 steals in the game.
Bear Notebook: WashU improved to 6-5 all-time against Greenville … It was the first meeting between the two teams since 1990 … The Bears improved to 66-24 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, and 23-6 in postseason games at the WU Field House … It was the 770th (770-192) win in WashU's program history … Thompson's 10 assists moved her past Sarah Schell (2003-07) for second on WashU's all-time career leaderboard (428) … Twelve of the 15 individuals who played in the game for WashU scored at least three points each … Martinez passed Debby Braun for third on WashU's all-time single-season steals list, bringing her team-leading total to 83 … Biewen got her 180th career steal, tying Maddy Scheppers (2011-15) for sixth on WashU's all-time leaderboard.