From Washington University Athletics
Senior guard Maddy Scheppers made a career-high seven three-pointers to lead the No. 7-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team to a 71-61 University Athletic Association (UAA) win at Carnegie Mellon University Friday evening.
Scheppers hit three three-pointers in the first 3:01 of the game to help Washington U. jump out to an 11-4 lead, but Carnegie Mellon answered with five straight points to pull to within 11-9 with 16:07 left in the first half. Scheppers' fourth three sparked a 10-0 run for the Bears over the next four minutes as they built a 21-9 advantage on a pair of free throws by senior Steph Vukotic with 11:35 to play in the half.
A layup by the Tartans cut the Bears' lead to single digits at 27-18 with 7:25 left in the opening period. Junior Jordan Thompson hit a pullup jumper in the lane to start a 16-3 run that included eight points by senior Melissa Gilkey and gave Washington U. its largest lead of the half at 43-21 with 1:14 remaining. The Bears had a chance to add to their lead in the final minute, but Carnegie Mellon got a steal and made its fifth three-pointer of the half with six seconds to play to make the halftime score 43-24 in favor of the Bears.
Washington U. scored the first seven points of the second half to extend the lead to 50-24 with 17:35 remaining. The Tartans answered with an 11-0 run, including a pair of three-pointers and a three-point play, to trim the lead to 55-38 with 11:09 to play. After a timeout by the Bears, junior Katybeth Biewen converted a three-point play and senior Alyssa Johanson hit three straight jumpers to extend the lead back to 64-38. Carnegie Mellon made a pair of free throws before Scheppers' seventh three-pointer gave the Bears their largest lead of the game at 67-40 with 8:01 remaining. The Tartans hit three more three-pointers as part of a 16-2 run that cut the Bears' lead to 69-56 with 2:56 left, but another baseline jumper by Johanson and a pair of defensive stops sealed the win before Carnegie Mellon got a layup and a three in the final minute to make the final score 71-61.
Washington U. shot 46.7 percent (28-60) from the field in the win, including 7-of-20 from three-point range. The Tartans finished with 40.7 percent (22-54) field-goal shooting, including 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Washington U. also outrebounded the Tartans for the second time this season, finishing with a 37-31 advantage on the glass.
Scheppers led the Bears with her 21 points. Gilkey recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while also tallying career-highs of seven assists and five steals. Johanson finished with 14 points, including 12 in the second half, to go with her seven rebounds and three assists. Biewen and Thompson added six points and four assists each.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. is 51-3 all-time against Carnegie Mellon and has won the last 44 games in the series … Washington U. improved to 16-0 this season when leading at halftime … The Bears have outrebounded their opponents in 16 of 19 games, and are 75-7 since 2011-12 when winning the rebounding battle.