CLEVELAND, Ohio – 14 lead changes and 10 tied scores eventually led the RV Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team to a 62-61 UAA win over Case Western Reserve on Friday night in Cleveland. The win improves the Bears to 14-7 overall on the season and 5-5 in the UAA.
Graduate Jessica Brooks led all scorers with 26 points, a season-high in scoring. When paired up with her game-high 14 rebounds, the St. Louis native collected her 10th double-double of the season. She finished the game going 11-for-27 from the floor, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Not to be outdone, sophomore Lexy Harris notched her eighth double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Rebounding was key as the Bears, who ranked third in Div. III rebounding margin (+13.5) heading into the contest, grabbed 22 more rebounds than the Spartans (53-31), including a 27-7 margin on offensive rebounds. The offensive grabs would lead to a 25-8 margin in favor of the Bears in second-chance points.
Brooks got the Bears on the board quickly with a three just 11 seconds into the game for the 3-0 lead. CWRU went on a 6-1 run over the next 2:12 to take a small lead. Sophomore Alyssa Hughes would answer to end the run with the Bears' second three of the night at 6:07 to give the Bears the lead again at 7-6.
Another 5-0 run by the Spartans gave the home team a 4-0 lead at 4:25. After trading baskets, WashU closed out the quarter on a 6-2 run, capped by a layup from Brooks with just two seconds left, as the teams were tied 15-15 after the first 10 minutes.
Scoring was at a premium in the second quarter with neither team adding to their total in the first three and a half minutes.
Over the next four and half minutes, CWRU scored 10 of the next 16 points for a 25-21 lead with just under two minutes left in the first half. Brooks hit a three at 1:33 and followed up with a layup at :21 to give the Bears a 26-25. After a three-point play by the Spartans with four seconds left, would hit a floating three as time expired to tie the score up once again, 28-28.
Unlike the previous period, the third quarter saw both teams score seven and five points, respectively, as WashU took a 35-33 lead at 7:22. Hughes would make five straight points for the Bears at 6:35 that gave the Bears a five-point advantage.
After a Spartan layup with 6:20 left in the period, WashU would extend their lead up to eight on two occasions in the period with the later being on a layup from Brooks at 2:44 to give the Bears the 46-38 lead. A 7-2 stretch by CWRU over the final two minutes would pull the home team back within three as the teams headed to the final period.
Once again, the teams traded leads with the Spartans regaining the advantage on a "and one" play at 6:03. A three from Brooks at 4:20 returned the lead to WashU before another three-point play by the Spartans gave CWRU the two-point lead.
Back-to-back layups from Harris and Brooks saw the Bears retake the lead with 2:46 remaining, 59-57. A pair of free throws tied the score up at 59-59 just 14 seconds later. A wide-open three from junior Jordan Rich in the corner saw the last lead the Bears would need on the evening, 62-59 with 2:11 left. CWRU would pull within one at 1:31 with a layup.
Both teams would miss their next shots with the Spartans grabbing a rebound with 25 seconds left on the clock. After inbounding the ball, CWRU passed the ball around and attempted to draw a foul down low, but no call was made, and Harris grabbed the rebound and was fouled herself with just two seconds left. The Bears got the ball in play and immediately ran away to run out the clock and earn the season split with the Spartans, 62-61.
WashU closes out the weekend action on Sunday, Feb. 26 when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on Carnegie Mellon. Tip-off with the Tartans gets underway at 12 p.m. ET.
