St. Louis, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team dropped a 79-70 decision on Saturday to Greenville University in non-conference play at the Field House.
WashU falls to 6-3 overall on the season and will next return to action on December 29 at UW-Oshkosh.
Greenville moves to 7-3 on the year with the victory, as the Panthers shot 41 percent from the floor and 23-26 from the foul line on Saturday.
In addition, GU scored 19 points off turnovers and 19 fast-break points.
Statistically, the Bears finished the game shooting 41 percent, but committed 17 turnovers in the loss.
The Bears won the rebounding edge 36-31 and scored 40 points in the paint and 14 points off turnovers.
Maya Arnott led the Bears with 20 points, seven rebounds, and four assists on 8-12 shooting to lead WU.
Brenna Loftus earned her first career double-double with 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, while Sammi Matoush reached double figures scoring for the third straight game, finishing with 13 points and six boards.
Jessica Brooks notched 12 points for her fourth straight contest in double figures, as she also added three assists.
The Panthers opened up the first quarter on a 7-0 run in the first 90 seconds which had the Bears reeling right from the start.
WashU weathered the storm and fought back to cut the deficit to 19-17, closing out the period on a 9-3 run.
Arnott scored 10 and was 4-4 from the foul line to keep the Bears within striking distance.
Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter with GU shooting 22 percent and WashU at 25 percent.
The Bears opened the frame on a 10-2 run in the first six minutes of action for a 27-21 advantage.
Matoush carried the Bears' offensive attack with eight points, knocking down two big three-point field goals in the scoring run.
WashU shot 4-6 from the foul line in the final minute of the period and maintained a 31-29 edge at halftime.
WU had a strong start to the third, scoring on four of its first six possessions for a 39-33 lead.
Holding an eight-point advantage the Bears were looking to pull away, but Greenville clawed its way back into the contest and reduced the lead down to just 50-48 heading into the fourth.
In the fourth, the Panthers outscored WashU 31-20, shooting 70 percent from the field, including a 17-19 shooting effort at the foul line.
WashU was limited to 8-22 shooting in the final frame and also allowed 13 fast-break points from the Panthers.
The Bears trailed just 58-56 with five minutes to play but were outscored 21-14 in the closing stages of the contest.
