The Washington University women’s basketball team came out victorious in two tightly contested conference matchups this weekend. After beating Emory University by an 82-78 score on Friday and squeaking out an 80-77 win against the University of Rochester on Sunday, the No. 9-ranked Bears sit with their 9-2 conference record on top of the University Athletic Association (UAA), tied with University of Chicago.

Wash. U.’s bench was integral to their success on Friday, with 44 combined points off the bench from sophomores Madeline Homoly and Rachael Sondag. The Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a floater from sophomore guard Claudia Smith and an old-fashioned three-point play from senior forward Zoe Vernon. Wash. U. led 19-13 after the quarter.

Senior forward Zoe Vernon shoots the ball aganist Wisconsin-
Whitewater. Wash. U. defeated Emory this weekend 82-78.

Emory struck back with a 7-2 run after the break, cutting the Bears’ advantage to just one point. With 12 second quarter points from Emory senior forward Shellie Kanuit, the Eagles were in striking distance at the end of the half, down only 35-31.

Emory continued to crawl back throughout the tightly contested third quarter. The Eagles came within one point three separate times in the quarter, the final instance occurring with 2:31 remaining, when a steal and a resulting layup by Emory sophomore Ashley Oldshue made the score 50-49 Wash. U. The Bears quickly responded with an 8-0 run, with five points from Sondag and a three-pointer from junior Natalie Orr, to pull away for good. The Bears led 58-51 after three periods.

Homoly and Sondag scored the final 14 points in the game to seal the Bears’ win, 82-78. Sondag made three three-pointers in the final quarter and went six for 11 overall in the game from behind the arc for a career-high 20 points.

Wash. U.’s bench outscored Emory’s 54-14, a key factor in the team’s Friday night success. The Bears shot 55 percent as a team from the floor but had 20 turnovers in the matchup to the Eagles’ 15.

Riding a seven-game win streak entering Sunday’s game, the Bears looked to avenge their most recent loss—a 67-53 upset at Rochester back in mid January. Again, Wash. U. entered as the favorite, but the Yellowjackets would not make it easy, jumping out to a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Bears quickly fell further behind, when Rochester went on a blistering 9-2 run to start the the second quarter. The Red and Green mounted a response with a 17-7 run to tie the game back up. Senior guard Ereka Hunt’s three ball with 14 seconds remaining gave the Bears a 38-35 advantage going into the break.

Wash. U. jumped out quickly after half-time, beginning the quarter with a 12-5 run, but the Yellowjackets were swift in their counterattack thanks to some hot hands. Rochester scored four three-pointers on the next four consecutive possessions, with two each from junior guard Lizzy Atkinson and freshman guard Brenna James to tie the game up once again. The Yellowjackets would finish 11 of 22 from behind the arc in the matchup.

With just 25 seconds remaining in the game, the Bears found themselves clinging to a two-point lead. Sophomore Becca Clark-Callender, who had a career-high 11 points already, drove to the basket as the shot clock was running low and was fouled in the process. She made the resulting two free throws, but an ensuing three-point play by the Yellowjackets narrowed Wash. U.’s lead to just one point.

After a Bears timeout, Clark-Callender was fouled during the inbound pass, and she was perfect on the resulting free throws once again, finishing 13 for 13 from the line in the game.

Clark-Callender continued her clutch play with a steal on Rochester’s following possession. The Yellowjackets quickly fouled senior Lily Sarros, and she missed both free throws, but with only eight seconds on the clock, Rochester was unable to put together a successful play, sealing the win for the Bears.

Clark-Callender and Homoly led their team with 18 and 17 points, respectively, and Sarros contributed 15. Free throw shooting played a big role for the Bears in the game, making 21 of 25 for an 84 percent free throw percentage to Rochester’s 14 of 21.

The two wins this weekend improved Wash. U.’s record to 20-2 overall, and gave head coach Nancy Fahey her ninth 20-win season in a row and 27th in her 31 years at Wash. U.

The Bears continue their conference play as they propel toward the end of the regular season with away games at New York University and Brandeis University next weekend.