ST. LOUIS, Mo. – It was not the start they wanted, but the ending was what they've been practicing as the Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team secured an 80-64 win over Rochester on Friday night at the Field House.
The game was part of the Bears' Black History Month Game as well as Neighbor's Night.
Sophomore Lexy Harris led the Bears with a team-high 25 points, nearly tying her season-high of 27 (11/15/24 vs. Edgewood). She added 11 rebounds to tally her ninth, double-double of the season.
Classmate Sidney Rogers also nearly broke her career-high with 20 points. She shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Also reaching double-digits was graduate Jessica Brooks who finished with 15 points. She also went a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
As they have done almost every game this season, the Bears out rebounded their opponents 37-29. Their rebound margin is still fourth best in all of Div. III (+13.1).
It was a minute and a half into the game before the first points were scored as senior Brenna Loftus made a layup to put the Bears on the board first. Over the next three and a half minutes, the teams would trade baskets and trade leads before the score was tied on a Yellowjackets layup at 5:21, 9-9.
That basket was the start of an 11-0 run by Rochester, putting the visitors ahead 18-9 with 1:43 left in the period. WashU started its own run with a pair of free throws from Harris at 1:30 and ended the quarter with a three from first-year Ava Blagojevich at :27.
Trailing by three going into the second quarter, 18-16, the Bears got another three from Blagojevich at 9:22 in the second quarter to retake the lead, 19-18. It was the lead that WashU never gave up the rest of the contest.
The Bears would slowly build the lead to as many as 13, 33-20, at 3:44 on a free throw from Harris. The Yellowjackets quickly answered, bringing the Bears' lead down to five with 23 seconds left in the half. However, Rogers was fouled with two seconds left on the clock and made both free throws that saw WashU take a 39-32 lead into the locker room.
Just three minutes into the third quarter, Rochester had chipped away and trailed only by three, 43-40 at 7:05 on the clock. Two minutes later a three from Rogers put the Bears lead to 10, 52-42. Not able to escape them just yet, the Bears saw their lead dwindle down to just seven at 2:30.
WashU closed out the period with their own 7-0 run, capped by a layup from Harris with five seconds left, putting the home team ahead 68-54.
Scoring was at a premium in the fourth quarter with neither team being able to repeat their scoring success of the third quarter. The Yellowjackets could not get any closer than 12 points in the final 10 minutes but did see themselves trailing by as many as 17, 75-58, on a tip-in basket from Harris at 4:44.
Rochester outscored the Bears in the final minutes, but a three from sophomore Alyssa Hughes with 38 seconds left sealed the 80-64 win over the Yellowjackets.
WashU will return to the court on Sunday, Feb. 23 when they host Emory in its final home game of the regular season. Tip-off with the Eagles is scheduled for 12 p.m. Prior to the contest, the Bears will honor both Brooks and Loftus with a special Senior Day recognition.
