St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 18, 2018 – Seniors Natalie Orr and Shelby Mann helped lead Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team to an 86-66 victory over Carnegie Mellon University Sunday afternoon to conclude the Bears University Athletic Association (UAA) home schedule in the WU Field House during senior day.
The Bears improved to 18-6 overall including 9-4 in UAA play while Carnegie fell to 9-15 overall and 1-12 in the UAA. WashU finished with a season-high 30 assists, which is the first time since Nov. 26, 2005 against Middlebury College. Mann led the Bears with a career-high nine assists while avoiding a single turnover as the Bears finished with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.3 (30-9).
Orr was a recipient of several of Mann's dishes as she finished with a game- and season-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. She converted 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and after eight three-pointers on the weekend moved into third place all-time in school history with 150 career triples. The Carmel, Ind.-native passed Stacy Leeds (143, 1990-94) Friday and Maddy Scheppers (147, 2011-15) on Sunday.
Also scoring in double figures were junior Madeline Homoly (16), sophomore Kristina Schmelter (16) and junior Stephanie Botkin (11). Homoly picked up her 10th career double-double with 11 rebounds to help the Bears to a 44-31 advantage in rebounding.
Carnegie worked its way to an 18-12 lead in the opening six minutes of action before WashU scored 15 unanswered points. A layup by Homoly and a triple by Orr sparked the run while a pair of free-throws by Schmelter gave the Bears a 19-18 lead.
WashU and Carnegie both hit 5-of-9 from beyond the arc as WashU built a 27-23 advantage by the end of the first quarter. Botkin and junior Rachael Sondag combined for 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range.
The Bears outscored the Tartans 15-14 in the second quarter and held a 42-37 edge going into the half. Schmelter led the Bears with 12 points at the half while Homoly grabbed nine of her 11 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Five quick points by the Bears in the third quarter stretched the lead to double figures following a three by junior Caroline Ballard and a layup by Schmelter. Carnegie cut WashU's lead back to six points but Homoly's layup with 39 seconds remaining in the third kept the Bears ahead by double digits heading to the fourth quarter, 62-51.
An 11-2 run by the Bears in the fourth quarter sealed the victory. The Bears closed out an 86-66 victory over Carnegie to improve to 58-3 all-time against the Tartans including a 51-game winning streak.
Katharine Higgins led the three Tartans scorers to reach double figures with 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Jenn Mayberger and Makayla Filiere also reached double figures with 17 and 11 points respectively.
All four WashU Bears seniors, Hannah Koenig, Mann, Orr and Amani Patterson, were able to see action on the court Sunday afternoon after being honored prior to the opening tip-off. Koenig was presented the Robert L. Pearce 110% award which is an award established to honor and recognize special characteristics of commitment and perserverance.
WashU will close out the regular season Saturday, Feb. 24 at No. 11 University of Chicago with a 1 p.m. tip-off. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.