BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It took just 11 seconds for the No. 19 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team to score in its opening game of the Midwest Challenge on Saturday afternoon as the Bears went on to defeat DePauw, 70-52, inside the Shirk Center on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan.

Junior Lexy Harris hit the opening layup en route to a 22-point, 12-rebound performance for her fourth double-double of the season. Classmate Jordan Rich also reached double figures with 14 points against the Tigers.

After Harris scored, DePauw answered with a three-pointer for their lone lead of the contest at 9:23. Rich responded at 8:56 in the first quarter with her own three to give the Bears the lead for good. WashU saw its lead extend to eight on another three by Rich at 5:24. DePauw ended their drought with a tip-in at 4:54 but would go on another scoring drought that lasted another four minutes. In the meantime, WashU put the lead up to 12 and settled for a 17-7 lead going into the second quarter.

The Tigers answered the Bears' early scoring in the second quarter, getting within seven at 5:49. However, the Bears went on a 10-0 run from 5:18 to 2:59 to push their lead back up to the highest at the time, 31-14. A three by sophomore Hope Drake saw the lead go up to 19 with 39 seconds left, but the Tigers answered with a late three of their own to trail WashU 36-20 at the break.

Both teams went on a scoring run in the third, with the Bears adding 27 points to their total while DePauw added 17. This allowed WashU to push their lead up to 25 with just 10 minutes remaining in the contest.

It was nearly the opposite in the fourth quarter, as a lone basket by junior Catherine Goodwin at 9:07 were the only points scored in the first three minutes of the period. After a free throw by the Tigers and a jumper by Rich at 6:52 and 6:22, respectively, it was nearly a minute and a half before a three by DePauw cut the lead down to 25 at 67-42.

It was part of an 8-0 run by the Ohio team that was finally stopped by a free throw from junior Amelia Rosin at 2:24, cutting the WashU lead down to 68-47. Last minute baskets by both teams saw the Bears hold on for the 70-52 win.

As a team, WashU doubled up the Tigers in points in the paint (32-16) while leading in points off turnovers (8-3) and fast-break points (9-7). The win improves the Bears' overall record to 5-1, while DePauw falls to 2-3 on the season.

WashU will play the winner of No. 16 Wis.-La Crosse and No. 17 Illinois Wesleyan on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 4 p.m. in the championship game of the Midwest Challenge.


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