From Washington University Athletics
The Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team beat Emory University 78-64 on the road Sunday afternoon in University Athletic Association (UAA) play at the Woodruff PE Center in Atlanta.
The Bears improved to 13-5 overall and 4-3 in the UAA, while Emory dropped to 10-8 overall and 4-3 during UAA play. The win also puts the Bears in third place ahead of the Eagles in the UAA standings.
WashU hit 17-of-18 free-throws for a 94.4-percent clip while the Eagles finished 11-of-21 from the line. The Bears also finished ahead of Emory in rebounding with 40 to the Eagles 32 which led to an 18-7 advantage in second chance points.
Senior Natalie Orr finished with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting while sophomore Kristina Schmelter (16), junior Madeline Homoly (14) and Rachael Sondag (13) also reached double figures. Orr also led the Bears with 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Senior Shelby Mann totaled a career-high six assists.
Sondag moved into a tie for sixth all-time in three-pointers at WashU after draining three on the day. Her 128 career three-pointers ties her with Zoë Unruh (2006-10), while she passed Halsey Ward (2006-09), Amy Schweizer (1994-98) and Beth Reuther (1996-2000) along the way.
Emory took an early seven-point lead, 11-4, in the first quarter causing a WashU timeout. The Bears responded with a 9-1 run and took the lead on a jumper by Orr with 3:02 to play in the opening quarter. Schmelter and junior Becca Clark-Callender scored the final four points of the quarter as WashU led 17-14.
Two-of-four free-throws by the Eagles trimmed the Bears lead to one point in the second quarter but a triple by junior Rachael Sondag pushed WashU ahead by four points.
Emory utilized an 8-2 run to pull within one with 2:14 to go in the first half, but Orr answered with a jumper to end a run of six consecutive points by the Eagles. Orr made the final Bears basket and WashU led 33-29 at the break.
The Bears closed out the third quarter on a 9-2 run capped by a last second three-pointer by Sondag. Orr combined with juniors Stephanie Botkin and Caroline Ballard to WashU's three shots on the run.
The momentum continued for the Bears in the fourth quarter as Schmelter sank six free-throws while helping WashU out to a double-digit advantage. Schmelter went a perfect 6-of-6 down the stretch from the charity stripe in route to totaling 16 points. Homoly sank the final two free-throws for WashU as the Red & Green hit all of their free-throws in the fourth quarter.
Emory was led by Erin Lindahl and Ashley Oldshue's 17 points while Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod added 16 points. Lindahl also added 11 rebounds.