No. 22 Women’s Basketball Earns 20th Win with Senior Day Victory Over Chicago
BOX SCORE | HIGHLIGHTS
St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 23, 2013 - The No. 22-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women’s basketball team celebrated Senior Day with a 65-48 University Athletic Association (UAA) win over the University of Chicago in the regular-season finale for both teams Saturday afternoon at the WU Field House.
The Bears ended the regular-season with a 20-5 overall record and a 10-4 mark in the UAA. It marks the fifth-straight 20-win season for Washington U., and the 22nd season of 20 or more wins in head coach Nancy Fahey’s 27-year tenure. Chicago ended its season with a 7-18 record overall and a 3-11 record in the UAA. The Bears will wait to see if they receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 25, on NCAA.com
Washington U. jumped out to a 12-0 lead on 5-of-11 field-goal shooting in the first eight minutes of the game. Chicago missed its first seven shots from the field, and had six turnovers, before three three-pointers brought the Maroons to within 14-9 with 9:48 left in the first half. The Bears scored the next five points to regain a 10-point advantage (19-9) with 8:02 on the clock. The Maroons pulled to within six (24-18) with 3:13 left in the half, but Washington U. scored the final four points of the half to take a 28-18 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Bears stretched their lead to 43-30 on a three-pointer by freshman guard Katybeth Biewen with 13:20 left in the game. The Maroons answered with a basket before a pair of free throws by sophomore forward Melissa Gilkey and a reverse layup by senior forward Kristin Anda extended the Bears’ lead to 47-32 with 10:18 remaining. Chicago went on a 10-2 run over the next 2:44 to pull to within 49-42 with 7:34 remaining. Washington U. outscored the Maroons 12-4 over the next five minutes, including six points by Gilkey, to regain a 15-point lead (61-46) with 2:32 left in the game, before finishing with the 65-48 win.
Washington U. shot 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field in the game to finish slightly better than Chicago’s 37.3 percent (19-of-51) shooting. Eight of the Maroons’ 19 field goals were three-pointers, while Washington U. had just two threes. The Bears made 17-of-23 free-throw attempts, while Chicago was 2-of-2 at the foul line. Washingotn U. also finished with a 39-32 rebounding advantage, including a 15-8 advantage on the offensive glass. The Bears forced 21 turnovers by Chicago, turning them into a 22-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
Gilkey recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds. She also had one blocked shot to move into ninth on the Washington U. all-time career list with 61. Junior forward Jordan Rettig also scored in double figures, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds and a career-high five assists, while sophomore guard Alyssa Johanson added eight points. Senior guard Nishi Tavernier and Anda tallied six points each in the final regular-season home game of their careers. Tavernier also had a career-high six rebounds and three assists.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series against Chicago, 44-13 … In their four seasons, Anda and Tavernier have helped the Bears to a 95-19 record overall, including a 49-5 mark at the WU Field House … Washington U. is 346-33 (.913) in 29 seasons of play at the WU Field House, including a 329-28 (.922) mark during Fahey’s tenure … Washington U. has a conference-best record of 307-50 (.860) through 26 seasons of play in the UAA … The Bears outrebounded 22 of their 25 opponents during the regular season … It was the 23rd game this season that Gilkey scored in double figures.