Bloomington, Ill., November 27, 2021 – The Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team dropped a 66-64 decision to No. 10 DePauw on Saturday afternoon at the Midwest Challenge at Illinois Wesleyan.

WashU had the lead for nearly the entire contest, but DePauw outscored the Bears 23-18 in the fourth and scored the go-ahead basket with 25 seconds left. 

The Bears have faced three nationally-ranked teams in their past three contests and have played them all down to the wire within one possession.

Another strong start for WashU had the Bears on top 15-7 in the opening stages of the contest as they shot 55 percent from the field, with six quick points from Sammi Matoush.

DePauw closed out the final three minutes of the quarter on a 9-3 run, but the Bears held on to an 18-16 edge.

Leading 20-18 early in the second, WashU stretched the lead out to nine thanks to a 7-0 run.

A driving layup from Hayley Semple started the run, and a Samantha Weaver free throw closed the run with 3:32 left in the quarter, giving WashU 27-18 lead.

Maya Arnott connected on a pair of free throws before a jumper from Karisa Grandison pushed WashU ahead 31-25 at halftime.

The Bears' defense had a great first half, limiting DePauw to 25 percent shooting. Additionally, WashU owned the rebounding margin 24-17.

In the second half, the Bears held their largest lead of the afternoon at 40-30 in the third quarter after a jumper from Matoush was nothing but net with six minutes to go.

DePauw fought their way back with a 13-4 run to slice the lead down to 44-43. Grandison kept the Bears up three at 46-43 with a driving left-handed layup as time expired.

The fourth quarter was back-and-forth all the way down the final horn. Tied at 56, DePauw took its first lead of the day on a free throw with 2:58 to play.

WashU answered with six clutch free throws on their next three possessions from Matoush, Arnott, and Grandison as both teams traded leads late.

In total, there were five different lead changes in the last three minutes.

WashU was 9-10 from the foul line in the quarter and maintained a 62-61 lead with 40 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing possession, DePauw scored and took the lead back with 25 seconds left. 

The Bears had a chance to reclaim the lead, but missed a shot down low with 17 seconds left and then committed a turnover on their next possession.

Down 65-62, WashU scored on a driving layup with one second left, but time would expire off a missed free throw from DePauw to end the game.

Three Bears reached double figures scoring on Saturday with Sammi Matoush leading the way with 16 points.

Maya Arnott recorded her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Karisa Grandison scored in double figures for the second time this season with 13 points off the bench.

The Bears added 17 second chance points with 14 points scored off turnovers. WU outrebounded DePauw 48-36 and shot 21-25 from the foul line.

WashU will close out the Midwest Challenge tomorrow against the loser of the Illinois Wesleyan/Rose Hulman contest played later this afternoon.