St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 16, 2018 – The Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team held Loras College to 37.3-percent shooting from the field but fell 57-46 in a defensive battle Sunday afternoon in the WU Field House.
The Bears dropped to 5-4 on the season while the Duhawks improved to 7-3 overall. WashU was held to a season-low 25-percent shooting (15-60) from the field sinking three shots from beyond the arc in 27 attempts while Loras knocked 6-of-15 from three-point range.
The Red & Green forced the Duhawks into 20 turnovers while committing 12 but Loras held a 13-12 advantage in assists. The Bears outscored the Duhawks 29-24 in the second half and held a 16-7 advantage in points off the bench.
Senior forward Madeline Homoly reached the 1,000 point club in the first quarter by sinking a free-throw. In WashU women's basketball program history only 13 players have reached the milestone before Homoly. The Kansas City, Mo.-native career points total is up to 1,005.
Senior guard Becca Clark-Callender finished with a game- and season-high 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and draining 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Senior guard Rachael Sondag tied a season-high five assists while freshman guard Hayley Semple totaled four steals in the contest.
Sondag converted a triple assisted by Homoly on the Bears first possession of the game to give WashU a 3-2 lead. Clark-Callender drained a pair of free-throws two minutes later to put WashU ahead 5-3 before Homoly sank her second of two free-throws to join the 1,000 point club and increase WashU's advantage to three points.
Loras took the lead 10-8 on a shot from beyond the arc with 3:48 to go in the first but back-to-back baskets by junior center Kristina Schmelter and Clark-Callender put WashU back ahead 12-11. Free-throws from Clark-Callender momentarily gave the Bears their last lead of the game with 30 seconds to go in the first as the Duhawks hit a closing seconds triple for a 16-14 edge.
WashU was held to three points in the second quarter while the Duhawks scored 17. Loras held a 33-17 halftime lead. Clark-Callender led the Bears with seven points at the midway break.
The Bears defense held Loras to a shot clock violation in the opening possession of the third quarter but the Duhawks outscored WashU 7-2 in four minutes of action in the second half. Clark-Callender hit a triple with 2:05 to go in the third which trimmed Loras' lead to 12 points, 40-28. Senior forward Stephanie Botkin hit two free-throws in the third quarter's final minute to cut the lead to 11 points, 41-30, but the Duhawks hit the final shot of the quarter.
Both the Bears and Duhawks shot below 30-percent in the fourth quarter, with WashU outscoring Loras 16-14. The Red & Green trailed 50-36 with 3:30 remaining and the Bears took advantage of multiple missed free-throws by Loras down the stretch to go on a 10-5 run, cutting the deficit to nine points.
Loras converted a pair of free-throws for the final points of the game with 38 seconds left. The Duhawks' Riley Eckhart and Macenzie Kraemer led the team with 14 points apiece. Loras outscored WashU 13-2 in points off turnovers.
The Bears will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 29 against St. Thomas in the Wartburg Holiday Tournament in Waverly, Iowa. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.