St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 18, 2019 – The Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team rans its winning streak to five games and avenged a loss from a year ago to Westminster College (Mo.) with a 69-64 victory Wednesday at the WU Field House in St. Louis.

WashU improved to 7-2 with the win, while Westminster had its two-game win streak snapped and fell to 3-5. The Bears have won five-straight contests.

Senior forward Kristina Schmelter had a season-high 16 points and nine boards, while freshman guards Naomi Jackson and Sammi Matoush added 12 points apiece. 

WashU shot a season-low 32.9 percent (24-73) from the field and hit just 11-of-20 from the free-throw line. The Bears had six blocks and eight steals, and outrebounded Westminster 53-45.

The Bears led the contest 10-2 in the opening few minutes as Schmelter had six of the first 10 points. A 6-0 run to end the first quarter put WashU up 20-12.

Jackson opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, and then Matoush canned a triple to make it 28-16. WashU took a 37-28 lead to half after shooting 36.8 percent (14-38) from the field. Schmelter had eight points to lead the Bears.

Westminster cut the lead to five (38-33), but WashU responded with nine-straight points to make it 47-33. Sophomore Samantha Weaver's three-point play extended the lead to 59-41.

The Bluejays opened the fourth quarter on an 18-3 run to trim the lead to 63-62, but a pair of free-throws by Schmelter made a three-point contest. She hit two more from the foul line with 16.6 seconds left sealed the victory.

Kailee Dowler led Westminster with 15 points, while Corrie Reece had 13 and Mikalyn Callahan added 10.

WashU has 10 days off before returning to action on Wednesday, Dec. 29, vs. No. 11-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse at the Wartburg Holiday Tournament in Waverly, Iowa.

BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU is 3-1 all-time against Westminster … The Bears are 26-6 at home in three seasons under head coach Randi Henderson.