St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 2, 2020 – Freshman guard Molly Gannon and senior forward Kristina Schmelter combined to score 45 points to lead the Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team to an 85-83 upset win over No. 25 Emory University Sunday at the WU Field House in St. Louis.
Gannon scored a career-high 24 points on 5-of-9 three-point shooting, while Schmelter had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman forward Maya Arnott added a career-best 17 points and eight boards in the win.
WashU improved to 10-8 and 3-4 in the University Athletic Association (UAA), while Emory suffered its second-straight defeat and fell to 14-4 and 5-2 in the UAA.
WashU hit seven of its first 10 shots from the field and led 16-11 midway through the first. Emory answered with a 12-2 run, but threes by freshman guard Naomi Jackson and Gannon gave WashU the 26-25 lead. The Bears shot 61.1 percent (11-18) from the field as Gannon had eight points.
Jackson's three late in the first quarter ignited a 15-0 run as the Bears jumped out in front 35-25 and forced an Emory timeout. WashU limited Emory to 26.7 percent (4-15) shooting in the second quarter, including 1-of-7 from beyond the arc.
WashU took a 43-34 lead to half as the Bears shot 52.9 percent (18-34) from the field and had the 9-0 advantage in fast-break points. Gannon led all scorers with 13 points, while Schmelter had 11.
The Bears grew the lead to double figures (51-41) on a three-point play by Arnott, but Emory scored six-straight to force a timeout by WashU. Gannon's bank three at the buzzer made it 59-56 after three. The Bears hit just 4-of-15 from the field in the third quarter.
A 7-0 run by WashU made it 68-61 on a pair of free-throws by freshman Sammi Matoush, but Emory answered with a 6-0 run of their own. Allison Chernow made a three-pointer with six seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Chernow hit a lay-up with 23.9 seconds left to put Emory up 83-82 in OT, and then on the ensuing play Arnott was fouled and connected on both free-throws to make it 84-83. Chernow's jumper was off the mark with two seconds left as WashU held on for the upset win.
Chernow had a team-high 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Emory, while Tori Huggins (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Erin Lindahl (16 points, seven rebounds) also scored in double figures. The Eagles had a 21-8 advantage in bench points and hit 22-of-28 from the free-throw line.
WashU travels to Rochester on Friday, Feb. 7, at 6 p.m. (ET).
BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Emory 55-7 … Schmelter went over 700 points for her career … WashU is 1-5 against top-25 opponents this season ... Matoush finished with eight points, six rebounds and a career-high six assists.