St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 19, 2016 – No. 9 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball concluded the 16th Annual McWilliams Classic with a 66-49 win over No. 25 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Saturday evening in the WU Field House.
WashU improved on the season to 3-0, while CMS dropped to 1-2 overall. The Bears held the Athenas to 30.0 percent shooting from the floor, while WashU converted 26-of-59 from the floor including seven three pointers.
Junior Natalie Orr was named the Jackie Schapp MVP, the award given to the McWilliams Classic Most Valuable Player. The Carmel, Ind.-native led all scorers for the second straight game with 15 on the night. Joining Orr on the All-Tournament team were WashU seniors Zoe Vernon and Lily Sarros.
The Bears wasted little time to jump ahead on a three ball from Jenn Dynis but two triples from CMS' Quinn Glosniak gave the Athenas the momentary lead with seven minutes to go in the opening quarter. WashU allowed just two CMS points throughout the remaining seven minutes and outscored CMS 12-2 in that time frame.
Vernon gave the Bears a 10-point advantage on a shot from beyond the arc to open the second quarter, 18-8. WashU worked its way to a 41-17 halftime lead on a 13-3 run to close out the quarter on a layup from Rachael Sondag.
Dynis and Vernon both went 2-of-4 from the floor in the third quarter as the Bear lead increased to 58-30. The Athenas outscored WashU 19-8 in the final quarter of play, but could not overcome the 28-point gap and ultimately fell 66-49.
Vernon notched seven rebounds and was second on the team in points with 12. Madeline Homoly and Caroline Ballard sank multiple shots for the Bears as they finished with seven and five points respectively off the bench. Sophomore guard Claudia Smith tallied six assists while committing one turnover.
Women's hoops will hit the road for its first action away from home during the Midwest Challenge against DePauw University on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 1 p.m. at Illinois Wesleyan University. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.