St. Louis, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team opened the UAA slate in thrilled fashion, defeating the University of Chicago 102-97 in double overtime.

Sophomore Jessica Brooks led the Bears' efforts with a career-high 32 points as well as eight rebounds and three steals.

It was a battle from the jump and the teams remained even in the first quarter, finishing 15-15 at the buzzer.

WashU took its first lead of the game following back-to-back buckets from Karisa Grandison and Sammi Matoush.

Chicago went on to score five-straight to take a 10-6 lead with 5:07 left in the first and a 3-pointer from Grace Hynes pushed that to 13-7.

The Bears closed out the first on a 6-0 run behind points from Brooks, Matoush and first-year Brenna Loftus.

The second quarter proved similar to the first, with back-and-forth action between the Bears and Maroons.

Chicago opened the quarter with a 3-pointer but the Bears pulled even again at 18 following an and-one play from Brooks.

The Maroons built up a five-point, 23-18, with 7:33 on the clock and led by as many as six midway through the quarter.

In the final three minutes of the half, Brooks netted two layups and first-year Sabrina DelBello added a bucket to give the Bears a 30-29 edge. Chicago came out of a timeout to take a two-point lead, but Brooks continued to shine as she hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send WashU into the half with a 33-32 lead.

Following the break, the Bears came out to score 12-straight points and gain a 45-32 advantage over Chicago. Matoush led the run with five points.

Two free throws from Brooks and one from Weaver extended WashU's lead to 48-34 at the five minute mark.

With 3:38 left in the third, the Maroons went on a 6-0 run to close the Bears' advantage, 50-43, and ended the quarter with back-to-back scores to trail the Bears 58-51.

Chicago opened the fourth quarter four-straight points, cutting WashU's lead to just three points, 58-55. The Bears, however, continued to hold off the Maroons following an and-one play from junior Maya Arnott.

The tide started to turn at the 6:00 mark, as Chicago went on what turned into a 12-0 run to go ahead 70-67. 

The teams exchanged leads for the final 1:31. With just 24 seconds on the clock, Chicago's Klaire Steffens made a free throw to give the Maroons a 73-71 edge, but following a Bears' timeout, Grandison made a layup to send the game into overtime.

Matoush opened the first overtime with a 3-pointer and Brooks added a jumper to give WashU a slight, 78-73, lead with just over three minutes left to play.

After WashU took a 80-74 lead, Chicago went on a 6-0 run to close out the quarter, 80-80, and force a second overtime.

The Bears trailed 84-82 in the opening minute of the second overtime before Brooks drilled a shot from behind the arc and Grandison made a layup to give WashU a 87-84 lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Matoush and Molly Gannon extended the Bears led to 93-86 with 2:01 left on the clock.

Grandison went on to score the final six points on free throws, securing the win for the Bears.

WashU shot 35-for-76 and an impressive 9-for-13 (70%) from 3-point range.

In addition to Brooks 32 points, three other Bears reached double figures. Grandison and Matoush each had 19 points and six rebounds while Loftus scored 10 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out three assists.

The Bears are back in action next weekend with two UAA contests at Emory on Friday, January 14 and Rochester on Sunday, January 16.