St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 13, 2019 – The Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team defended well while shooting even better from beyond the arc during its 74-56 victory over University of Rochester Sunday afternoon in the WU Field House.
The Bears improved to 9-5 overall, with a 3-0 record in University Athletic Association (UAA) play. Rochester dropped to 6-8 and 0-3 in the UAA. WashU held Rochester to 35.8 percent shooting from the field including a scoreless second quarter and a span of 12 minutes without a field goal.
Meanwhile, WashU shot 53.8 percent from beyond the arc (7-13). Six of the three-pointers were by seniors Caroline Ballard (4-5) and Stephanie Botkin (2-2) as the duo combined to score 23 points off the bench. The Bears bench held a 39-23 advantage in scoring over Rochester.
Senior forward Madeline Homoly climbed to 13th place all-time in Bears scoring history. The Kansas City, Mo.-native led all scorers with 18 points and she currently has 1,088 points which is two away from Hallie Hutchins (2001-05) for 12th and eight away from Zoë Unruh (2006-10) for 11th place.
WashU forced the Yellowjackets into 21 turnovers, including 11 steals. Freshman forward Samantha Weaver led the charge with four while Homoly tallied three.
In the first quarter, WashU went on a 12-3 run following an early timeout with the Bears trailing 15-10. Freshman forward Samantha Weaver had a steal and fast break jumper tied the score up at 15-all before another steal keyed a fast break assist to senior guard Katie Claussner. The basket pushed the Bears ahead 17-15 with 3:39 to go in the first quarter. However the Yellowjackets went 5-of-7 from beyond the arc for a 28-27 lead.
Senior guard Becca Clark-Callender got the Bears running in the second quarter as WashU scored the first eight points of the frame. She quickly transitioned the Red & Green attack with several defensive rebounds leading to fast break points. The Bears defense held Rochester scoreless in the first seven minutes of the quarter.
Junior center Kristina Schmelter converted a layup on the feed from Ballard to put the Bears ahead by double digits. WashU held the Yellowjackets scoreless in the second quarter to claim a 41-28 advantage at the break.
Homoly led all scorers with 12 points on 50 percent shooting from the field (5-10). In the process she passed Jaimie McFarlin's 1,071 points (2005-10) for 13th place all-time in WashU history. Clark-Callender had seven points, five rebounds and three assists at the break.
The Bears defense held Rochester without a field goal for 12 minutes of play, but the Yellowjackets went on a 13-6 run to start the third quarter. Rochester cut the lead to six points on back-to-back three-pointers by Lauren Foley. Botkin hit a last second triple for a 58-50 Bears lead heading into the fourth.
WashU outscored the Yellowjackets 11-4 in eight minutes of action to start the fourth quarter, pushing its lead to 15. Ballard hit a last minute three-pointer to finish with a season-high 15 points to end the scoring.
Rochester was led by junior Lauren Foley's 17 points off the bench as she hit 5-of-9 three-pointers.
Also reaching double figures in scoring for the Bears was Clark-Callender. She totaled 11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists in addition to a steal and block.
WashU head coach Randi Henderson moved within one win of 200 for her career. She currently has a cumulative record of 199-114 (.636), including a 28-13 (.683) mark with the Bears.
Up next for WashU is a UAA road trip, as the Bears travel to New York on Friday, Jan. 18 and Brandeis on Sunday, Jan. 20. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.