ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Picking up where they ended 2024, the No.16 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team opened up UAA play with a big 72-45 win over No. 19 Chicago in a match up of top-25 teams.
After a slow first quarter for both programs, WashU kicked it into drive in the second and third quarter before putting the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, scoring 25 points in the final period alone.
Graduate Jessica Brooks led all scorers with 22 points while both sophomores Sidney Rogers (13) and Lexy Harris (12) also reached double figures for the Bears.
Junior Nailah McBeth was aggressive on the boards, grabbing a game and season-high 10 rebounds.
As a team, WashU went 30-60 from the floor including 7-for-17 from beyond the arc. The Bears also led the Maroons in rebounds (56-32), assists (12-2), bench points (12-7), blocks (3-1), points off turnovers (16-11), points in the paint (42-16), and second chance points (12-11).
With a bit of pressure to start the contest, the Bears saw Chicago score the first points of the contest and would continue to hold the lead until 8-6 with 4:06 left in the first quarter. First-year Hope Drake would pull up for the first three-pointer of the game at 3:14 to give WashU its first lead, one they would not give up.
A Maroon free throw with 2:23 tied the score for the final time. Sophomore Catherine Goodwin would score the final points for either team in the period with a driving layup with 1:22 on the clock as the Bears took an 11-9 lead into the second quarter.
WashU opened up the second period scoring the first six points, all from Brooks, as she scored with a pull up jumper, a driving layup, and a pair of made free throws to give the home team a 17-9 lead with 6:32 on the clock. A free throw by UC at 5:32 broke a 7:51 scoring drought for the Maroons, going back into the first quarter.
Chicago would pull back within six at 19-13, but back and forth scoring with a slim edge to WashU saw the Bears lead by eight with 50 seconds on the clock after a Maroon free throw.
With the clock winding down and a defender in her face, Brooks stepped back as the first half clock hit zero with a swoosh of a shot from beyond the arc, giving WashU a 29-18 lead going into the locker room.
The scoring did not stop at the break as the Bears outscored Chicago 18-11 in the third quarter as both Brooks and Harris scored six of their points in the period. Despite pulling within seven at 33-26 and 7:24 on the clock, the Maroons began to slow down.
WashU would score 14 of the next 17 points to close out the period with the 47-29 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Both offensives took off during the final 10 minutes, scoring more during the final period then they had in any of the others. A 14-0 stretch by the Bears midway through the period extended the WashU lead up to 64-38.
With 1:39 on the clock, both teams went on a scoring flurry with the Bears edging out the Maroons 8-7 over the run, including a turnaround jumper by Harris with three seconds left as WashU opened up UAA play with the 72-45 win, improving to 10-2 on the season.
The Bears will be back on the court on Friday, January 17 when they host Case Western Reserve. The showdown with the Spartans tips off at 7:30 p.m. from inside the WashU Field House.