St. Louis, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team used a big performance in both the second and third quarters to pull away from Ohio Wesleyan on Friday evening at the Field House in the 21st Annual McWilliams Classic.
The Bears won the game 80-57, as they outscored the Battling Bishops 51-32 in the second and third quarters combined to cruise to a comfortable winning margin.
With the victory, WashU moves to 2-0 on the year and also advances on to tomorrow's McWilliams Classic championship contest against No. 14 Millikin, who defeated Coe in the first matchup on Friday.
The Bears had a balanced, lethal scoring attack, with great post play along with excellent outside shooting. WashU shot over 60 percent from the floor throughout the contest and shot just under 50 percent from three-point range.
In total, three Bears finished in double figures scoring as Jessica Brooks led WU with 16 points on 7-11 shooting, including five rebounds and two assists.
Maya Arnott cracked double figures scoring for the second consecutive contest and finished with 15 points and a team-high six rebounds.
Sammi Matoush had another efficient shooting from long range, knocking down a game-high four three-point field goals. Matoush finished the night with 14 points on 5-8 shooting.
Additionally, Nailah McBeth collected nine points and five boards, while Brenna Loftus and Jordan Rich each chipped in with eight points apiece. Loftus also dished out five assists in the victory.
The Bears took advantage of second-chance points, scoring 15 on the evening, as they recorded 40 points in the paint and shot 8-17 from three-point territory. Furthermore, WashU's bench outscored Ohio Wesleyan's 22-8.
It was a back-and-forth matchup early on in the first quarter. Both teams traded multiple leads in the opening period, but the Bears held a 15-14 edge after shooting 50 percent from the field.
In the second quarter, WashU dominated the Battling Bishops, outscoring them by a margin of 23-14, including a pivotal 18-6 run late in the period which pushed the Bears ahead by double digits at 36-26.
WashU was 5-8 from three in the second period alone and shot 64 percent from the field, as Brooks and Matoush combined for 19 of its 23 points.
Arnott was the driving force for WashU's offensive attack in the third, scoring 11 points on 5-5 shooting.
The Bears were efficient yet again, shooting an incredible 68 percent from the floor, as they used another big scoring run late to extend their lead out even further.
WashU led by double digits throughout the entirety of the third quarter and outscored OWU 12-5 in the final four minutes to hold a 61-42 lead.
WashU's largest lead of the night was 25 points, after Brooks converted on a driving layup in the paint late in the fourth quarter.
