From Washington University Athletics
The No. 5-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team used a 9-0 run midway through the first half to take control against Loras College en route to earning a 78-51 victory over the Duhawks Saturday afternoon at the WU Field House.
Washington U. got off to a quick start offensively, making six of its first nine field-goal attempts to jump out to a 15-7 lead with 14:41 left in the half. Loras pulled to within 17-13 with 11:01 remaining, but the Bears went on a 10-0 run, capped by a three-point play by senior Maddy Scheppers, to stretch the lead to 27-13 with 7:25 left. The Duhawks made their last field goal of the half with 5:35 left on the clock.
After starting 6-of-6 at the free-throw line, Loras went 1-of-6 in the final four minutes of the half. A three-pointer by senior Alyssa Johanson sparked a 9-0 run for Washington U. to finish the half and a driving layup by junior Jordan Thompson gave the Bears a 40-21 lead at the break. In the second half, senior Melissa Gilkey scored 17 of the first 19 points for the Bears, including a stretch of 13 in a row, as Washington U. made it 58-38 with 10:44 remaining. The Duhawks were unable to get closer than 20 the remainder of the game as Washington U. finished with a 27-point win.
The Bears shot 41.7 percent (30-of-72) from the field in the game, while limiting Loras to 31.5 percent (17-of-54) field-goal shooting. Washington U. finished with a 45-38 rebounding advantage, and a 31-8 advantage in second-chance points. The Bears forced 20 turnovers by Loras, including 17 in the first half.
Gilkey equaled her season-high with 24 points and pulled down seven rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. Scheppers and Johanson added nine points each, and Johanson also had seven rebounds. Sophomore Ereka Hunt finished with eight points off the bench, including a pair of three-pointers. Junior Katybeth Biewen recorded six points, a career-high eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Thompson had a team-high five assists. Senior Steph Vukotic finished with six points and six rebounds off the bench.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. is 4-0 all-time against Loras … All six of the Bears' wins this season have been by more than 20 points … The Bears have outrebounded all of their opponents this season, and are 65-7 in the past four seasons when winning the rebounding battle … Gilkey passed Jacquie Welkener (1983-87) for sixth on Washington U.'s all-time scoring list with 1,289 career points … The Bears had 12 different players score in the win, marking the fifth time this season that at least 10 different individuals scored.