St. Louis, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team took care of business at Fontbonne on Wednesday evening, earning a dominant 73-42 victory on the road in non-conference play.
The Bears improved to 6-1 on the year with the win as they posted their largest margin of victory this season. In addition, Wednesday's win marks the fourth time this season WashU has scored over 70 points in a single game.
It was a complete effort all-around for WashU, who notched 38 points in the paint, scored 23 points off turnovers and produced 20 fast-break points.
Defensively, WashU forced 18 Fontbonne turnovers and scored 19 bench points while outrebounding the Griffins 40-25.
In total, WU shot 46 percent from the field and tied its season-best mark from the free throw line, shooting 88 percent (15-17).
WashU was led in scoring by junior Jessica Brooks, who produced 18 points on 8-14 shooting along with a team-best seven assists, and six rebounds and two steals. Brooks has led the Bears in scoring for the second consecutive game.
Three other Bears also reached double figures in scoring as Sammi Matoush registered 14 points and seven rebounds and three steals, while Nailah McBeth and Jordan Rich each scored 12 points each. McBeth finished the contest with seven boards and Rich tallied five rebounds.
Additionally, Brenna Loftus collected eight points and seven rebounds in the victory.
The Bears had a great start to the contest in the first period, shooting 62 percent from the floor on 10-16 shooting attempts for 23 points.
Matoush and Brooks provided 14 points combined to pace the offense, as Matoush led all scorers in the period with eight points.
WashU scored 16 points in the paint and 10 fast-break points and closed out the frame on a 14-2 run to secure a 23-12 advantage.
In the second, the Bears' defense held Fontbonne to 1-13 shooting as they outscored the Griffins 15-3 in the quarter.
Brooks led all scorers with 12 points at the break and the Bears were up comfortably at 38-15, closing out the period on a 12-0 run.
WashU continued to stay aggressive offensively in the third, marking the second period in the game where the Bears shot over 60 percent collectively.
WU got it done on both ends, forcing seven turnovers, while also recording 14 points scored in the paint as they continued to pull away by a large margin.
The Bears' largest lead of the night came late in the fourth quarter at 71-36, following a basket inside from McBeth.
WU will return to the Field House on Sunday for a non-conference contest against UW-Platteville. Sunday's tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
