From Washington University Athletics
The No. 9-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team finished with a 25-10 advantage in points off turnovers as the Bears earned a 58-43 win at Millkin University Saturday afternoon.
After seeing a big first-quarter lead dwindle to a 26-21 advantage at halftime, WashU scored the first 11 points of the third quarter with baskets by five different players. The Bears forced four quick turnovers in the quarter by Millikin as they built the 37-21 advantage on a left-handed hook shot by junior Lily Sarros with 6:15 to play. Millikin made four straight free throws before getting its first field goal of the half with 3:20 left in the quarter to trim the lead to 37-27. Sarros ended the Millikin run with back-to-back baskets. The Big Blue made a layup with 13 seconds left, but freshman Rachael Sondag buried a three from the wing ahead of the third-quarter buzzer to give the Bears a 44-29 lead.
WashU extended its lead to as many as 21 (53-32) after a pair of free throws by senior Amanda Martinez with 4:57 left in the game. Sondag's second three of the game made it 58-38 in favor of the Bears with 2:46 left, but Millikin made its lone three of the game and added a layup in the final three minutes to make the final score 58-43.
WashU started strong on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court, forcing five early turnovers by Millikin while building a 12-0 lead with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter. Back-to-back three-pointers by junior Jenn Dynis and sophomore Natalie Orr pushed WashU's lead to 20-4 with 2:35 left in the first quarter.
The Bears got into some foul trouble, with four players picking up their second fouls by the 6:00 mark of the second quarter. WashU was held without a field goal in the quarter, but still headed to the locker room with a 26-21 lead after forcing 16 first-half turnovers by the Big Blue.
WashU finished with 35.6 percent (21-59) shooting from the field in the game, including 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from three-point range. Millikin shot 33.3 percent (15-of-45) from the field, but was just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. The Big Blue outrebounded WashU 43-29, but the Bears turned 27 Millikin turnovers into a 25-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
Sarros led WashU with 12 points, including eight in the second half, while shooting 6-of-8 from the field. She also grabbed five rebounds. Martinez added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Sondag added six off the bench. Senior Katybeth Biewen had four points, four rebounds and a team-high five assists, and junior Zoe Vernon added five points, three rebounds and four assists.
WashU improved to 8-1 with its seventh win in a row, while Millikin dropped to 4-4.
Bear Notebook: WashU leads the all-time series against Millikin 13-9 … It was the Bears' fourth straight win in the series … WashU outscored Millikin 18-8 in the third quarter, and is outscoring its opponents 161-98 in the third quarter this season … The Bears had 12 steals, their seventh game this season with double-digit steals.