ELMHURST, Ill. – It was a quick turnaround for the No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team as it traveled to Elmhurst Tuesday afternoon for a contest with the Bluejays. After a tight first half, the Bears pulled away in the third quarter as WashU picked up a 70-62 win.
The Bears improved to 2-1 on the season with the victory.
WashU had the edge in bench points (17-16), rebounds (42-32), assists (17-11), and blocks (2-0).
It was a quick start for the Bears as senior
Lexy Harris hit a layup just 23 seconds into the game for the quick lead. It would be over two minutes before either team scored as they ended up trading three-pointers. WashU hit a second in a row at 5:51 to expand its lead to five, 8-3.
Elmhurst got hot over the next three minutes as it tied the game at 10-10 with two minutes left in the first quarter. Senior
Amelia Rosin hit a pair of free throws with six seconds left to put WashU up by three, but a last-second heave by the Bluejays went through the net as the teams were tied 14-14 after one.
The second quarter saw scoring throughout, but Elmhurst took a lead and the Bears answered by tying the score multiple times. The home team went on to build a six-point lead on a jumper at 2:10, but WashU chipped away and held the Bluejays scoreless the rest of the half as Elmhurst led by just one at the break, 31-30.
Out of the locker room, the Bluejays quickly built their lead back up to six, 36-30, at 8:43. The Bears responded with a 17-4 run over the next three minutes as WashU took the largest lead of the game at the time, 47-40.
The Bears saw their lead grow to as many as 13 in the period, 57-44, but Elmhurst hit a last-second three once again to see WashU lead by 10, 57-47, going into the fourth quarter.
Despite multiple attempts by the Bluejays to stage a comeback, they were unable to overcome their deficit. They got as close as six with 27 seconds remaining, but a pair of free throws by senior
Sidney Rogers put the final score at 70-62.
Rogers led all scorers with 19 points while adding four assists. She was 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Senior
Alyssa Hughes (17 points) and Harris (11 points) also reached double digits. Harris finished with her second double-double of the season as she added 17 rebounds to go with her 11 points.
WashU will have nearly two weeks to prepare for its next contest when it hosts Millikin on Sunday, Nov. 22. Game time against the Big Blue is scheduled for 1 p.m. in the WashU Field House.
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