16th-ranked University of Rochester women's basketball hit 14 three-pointers, one shy of the program record, but fell to the Washington University in St. Louis Bears, 75-67, on Friday evening inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.
Maya Arnott broke the seal for WashU, scoring the game's first bucket with her layup off Jessica Brooks' assist with 9:51 to play in the first, but neither team would find the bottom over the next three minutes, as the score remained 2-0 until the six-minute mark.
Katie Titus drained her first of five three-pointers to break the scoring drought with 5:59 to play in the first before Arnott scored on the other end to give the Bears an early 4-3 lead.
Rochester then retook the lead on Alexis Sestric's first of five made threes, as the two sides got going midway through the opening period.
Kelsey Stites extended UR's lead to 8-4 with a driving layup, and one possession later, Sestric canned another three to make it 11-6 in favor of the home squad.
UR would lead by as many as seven in the opening period, but the Bears ended the first quarter on a 6-0 run and kept things rolling into the second quarter with four of the first five buckets of the period to open up a 25-19 lead.
Haley Dumiak sank a jumper, and Abby Gress hit a three to pull UR back within four, 28-24, with 4:34 to play in the first half, but another WashU run, this time a 7-0 run over 1:38, gave the Bears a 37-26 lead.
And while Callie McCulley sank two free throws before the halftime buzzer, UR would head into their home locker room trailing for the first time all season, down 37-28.
Sestric got things started in the second half for the 'Jackets, bringing UR within six with another made three.
But Brooks and Brenna Loftus answered her bucket with two of their own on the other end, kicking off a 10-1 run for WashU to give the Bears their largest lead of the game, 47-32, with 7:04 to play in the third.
This time though, Titus and the Yellowjackets had an answer, as the Penfield, NY native knocked down back-to-back-to-back triples to pull Rochester back within six.
Titus' triples jump-started a 14-2 run for UR, as after Arnott answered to put WashU back up nine, McCulley sank a three and Paige Gaynier scored off Maura Leverone's assist on the fast break, pulling the 'Jackets with three, 49-46.
Two free throws from Brooks once again made it a two-possession game, but Hailey Bruneau scored a layup on the ensuing possession and UR headed into the final frame down just three, 51-48.
And after Arnott again got the scoring started in the quarter, Leverone sank a layup and Stites hit a triple, evening the score at 53-all.
But WashU quickly retook the lead on their next possession and would hold Rochester scoreless for the next 2:01, extending their lead back to double digits, 63-53, with a 10-0 run.
Down 10 with 5:46 to play, Gress and Titus scored the next five points, pulling the 'Jackets within five, but Karisa Grandison and Brooks scored the next four, keeping the game just out of reach.
Back-to-back threes from Sestric would again pull Rochester within five, 69-64 with 1:34 remaining, but the Bears would hit their free throws down the stretch, and hold UR to just one, made bucket to seal the eventual, 75-67 victory.
WashU moves to 12-5 (5-1 UAA) with the win, while No. 16 Rochester falls to 13-4 (3-3 UAA).
Titus led UR with 17 points, adding five rebounds, a block and an assist, while Sestric tallied 13 points, shooting 5-for-9 from three.
Gress, Leverone and Titus each led UR on the board with five rebounds apiece, while Stites tallied a team-high five assists and two steals.
As a team, UR shot 39.1 percent and 45.2 percent (14-for-31) from three, while the Bears shot 47.4 percent, and made 15 of their 19 free throw attempts, compared to just 3-of-6 for Rochester.
The Yellowjackets will look to bounce back when they wrap up the weekend against the No. 7-ranked University of Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.