ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The No. 18 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team wrapped up 2025 and the non-conference portion of its 2025-26 schedule on Tuesday afternoon as the Bears picked up a 72-53 win over RV Christopher Newport in a neutral site tournament being held on the campus of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Junior
Alyssa Hughes led all scorers with 24 points, 18 of which came from her six three-pointers. She was one of three Bears in double figures, as both juniors
Sidney Rogers (18 points) and
Lexy Harris (13 points) also reached the 10+ plateau.
The Bears kick-started the game on an 8-0 run with a pair of three-pointers from juniors
Catherine Goodwin and Hughes, along with a turnaround jumper from classmate
Lexy Harris. The WashU defense did not allow the Captains to score for the first 2:39 of the contest. The teams traded baskets, with the Bears slowly extending their lead up to double digits for the first time on a three-pointer by junior
Sidney Rogers with just over five minutes left in the quarter.
CNU cut their deficit down to seven with 4:07 left on the clock before nearly two minutes of scoreless play. Rogers ended the drought at 2:28 with one of the six three-pointers by the Bears, putting WashU back up by double figures, 22-10. A last-minute three by the Captains was followed by a jumper from junior
Amelia Rosin, which saw the Bears carry a 24-13 lead into the second quarter.
WashU once again did not allow CNU to score for the first two and a half minutes of the period while starting off on a 7-0 run to take a 31-13 lead with 8:04 remaining in the half. A layup from Goodwin at 6:46 saw the Bears extend their lead to the largest of the half at that point, 35-16.
However, the Captains did not go away, as they were able to chip away once again at the lead and cut it down to 10 with just 16 seconds remaining. The Bears responded immediately before the buzzer with a step-back three from Rogers, which saw WashU take a 48-35 lead into the locker room.
Despite being unable to score for the first four and a half minutes of the third quarter, WashU's defense kept up the pressure as CNU was only able to score four points during the same stretch. A three from Hughes was followed by a pair of Captain free throws at 4:56, which saw WashU lead by 10, 51-41.
The Bears then went on another 8-0 stretch to end the third quarter as WashU did not allow the Captains to score for 5:26, a run that pushed into the fourth quarter. Harris hit a second-chance layup with just under nine minutes remaining in the contest to put the Bears back up to their biggest lead at 19, 61-42.
The teams once again began trading points with WashU able to slowly push their lead even more and eventually led by as many as 24 on a free throw by sophomore
Cecilia O'Grady with 1:38 remaining. Not completely done, the Captains scored the final five points of the contest but were unable to overcome their deficit, 72-53.
WashU will have some time to prepare to kick off 2026 with UAA play on Saturday, Jan. 10. The Bears will travel to Chicago for an afternoon contest with the Maroons, with tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Ratner Athletics Center.
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