ST. LOUIS, MO – Though they led by as many as 14 in the first half, #18 University of Rochester women's basketball struggled to get things going again in the second half and fell by the final score of 64-59 to the Washington University in St. Louis Bears on Friday evening inside the Washington University Fieldhouse.
Back-to-back threes from Alexis Sestric and Callie McCulley got the Yellowjacket offense going early on in the opening quarter, as UR raced out to an early lead.
Jessica Brooks got the Bears on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws, but Rochester would open the first quarter on a 13-4 run, taking a nine-point lead on another Sestric triple with 5:16 to play in the first.
WashU pulled within two with a 9-2 run of their own over the next 1:18, but jumpers from Katie Titus and Hailey Bruneau sent Rochester into the second quarter with a four-point, 19-15 lead.
The 'Jackets shot 61.5 percent from the field in the opening period and kept things rolling into the second, scoring the first nine points of the quarter to extend their lead.
Maura Leverone got the second-quarter scoring starting with a free throw, and then made a jumper to make it a 22-15 UR lead. Kelsey Stites then knocked down back-to-back threes, bringing the Yellowjackets' lead out to 13, 28-15, with 6:15 till the half.
Jordan Rich finally got WashU on the scoreboard in the second quarter at the 6:03 mark before the halftime buzzer, but Abby Gress responded with a three, UR's sixth of the first half, to give the 'Jackets their largest lead of the night, 31-17.
And although the Bears would outscore Rochester down the second-quarter stretch, the 'Jackets took a 33-21 lead at the break, shooting 52 percent from the floor, with the Bears at just 33.3.
However, the tides would begin to turn in the third, as WashU scored the first four points of the third, and cut UR's lead down to single digits, 38-29, on Nailah McBeth's layup less than four minutes into the second half.
The Yellowjackets would then match the Bears point for point, before a 7-2 run cut UR's lead to just six, 47-41, heading to the fourth.
Jessica Brooks then opened the frame with a layup, making it a four-point game, but Titus answered with a three, bringing Rochester's lead back to seven.
But Naomi Jackson would again bring WashU within a possession, knocking down one of her six made-threes, four of which came in the fourth quarter.
Up 50-47, McCulley answered with a three on the other end, but that would be Rochester's last made field goal for nearly five minutes, as with a 6-0 run, capped off by a Jackson triple, the Bears leveled the score at 53-all.
And then after a pair of McCulley free throws, Jackson knocked down back-to-back threes to give WashU a lead they'd never relinquish.
Down the stretch, UR would cut the deficit to four on Gress' jumper with 38 seconds to play, and though WashU would miss their final nine free throws, the Yellowjackets would get any closer, turning the ball over twice in the final 20 seconds as the Bears secured the 64-59 comeback victory.
After shooting 52 percent in the first half, UR shot just 29 percent over the final 20 minutes, with the Bears shooting 45.2 percent, including 50 percent (6-for-12) from three.
With the win, WashU sweeps the season series, moving to 14-5 (7-1 UAA) on the year, while the 'Jackets fall to 14-5 (4-4 UAA) on the year.
Sestric led UR with 11 points, with Leverone and McCulley joining her in double figures with 10 points apiece. Titus led Rochester on the glass with 12 rebounds, while Leverone picked up a team-high four assists.
The Yellowjackets next head to Chicago, IL, looking to bounce back and sweep their home-and-home against #10 UChicago on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 2:00 p.m. CT.