From Washington University Athletics
The No. 10-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team defeated No. 25-Illinois Wesleyan University in the opening game of the Midwest Challenge 89-81 Saturday afternoon in Greencastle, Ind.
WashU improved to 2-1 while Illinois Wesleyan dropped to 2-2 on the year. The Bears advanced to the Midwest Challenge Championship for the fifth straight year. WashU will play the winner of tournament host and No. 15-ranked DePauw University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Sunday at 4 p.m. (ET).
Junior Madeline Homoly finished with a season-high 29 points on nine-of-15 shooting from the field and 11-of-14 from the free-throw line. Sophomore Kristina Schmelter posted a career-high 19 points off the bench while junior Becca Clark-Callender ended the game with a personal-best eight assists.
The Bears finished with a 52.7-percent shooting percentage compared to Illinois Wesleyan's 38.9-percent while WashU also totaled 23 assists ahead of the Titans 14. The Bears and Titans combined for 56 trips to the free-throw line as WashU sank 25-of-32.
Juniors Rachael Sondag and Stephanie Botkin also scored 12 points apiece. Sondag was four-of-six from beyond the arc in 22 minutes of action.
Botkin knotted the game up at 21-all after collecting an offensive rebound before another basket and free-throw by junior Caroline Ballard put the Bears ahead 24-21 after the first quarter of play.
The Bears added to their lead in the second quarter by outscoring the Titans 23-20 to lead 47-41 at the half. Homoly and Schmelter combined for 27 points in the opening half of play.
Illinois Wesleyan mounted a comeback in the third quarter and took a 60-59 lead on a three-pointer by Kelsey Walsberg. Walsberg sunk another triple moments later and the Titans led 65-62 with a minute to go. A three-point play from Schmelter in the final seconds gave the Bears a 66-65 lead at the conclusion of the third quarter.
WashU and Illinois Wesleyan traded leads back and forth in the fourth quarter prior to a triple by Sondag put the Bears ahead for good at 73-71 with six minutes remaining. The trey sparked a 19-10 run for WashU leading to an 89-81 victory.
With the victory WashU improved to 21-5 all-time against Illinois Wesleyan. The Bears will attempt to earn their 15thMidwest Challenge Championship title in 25 years of the tournament.