Freshman Maddy Scheppers scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half and recorded ten rebounds for her first career double-double, and freshman Melissa Gilkey added 19 points and seven rebounds as the Bears avenged last Friday’s 72-70 loss to Rochester in the WU Field House.

Gilkey scored six of Wash. U.’s first ten points on the night as the Red and Green rushed out to a 16-9 lead to open the game. The Yellow Jackets slowly chipped away at the lead over the next 11 minutes until with 1:08 to play, they took their first lead, 24-23, on a three-pointer. Rochester led 26-24 at the half.

Coming out of the half, the freshmen went to work; Gilkey and Scheppers each hit a three-pointer and a layup to give Wash. U. a 34-31 lead that ballooned to as big as 39-33 following another jumper by Scheppers.

Rochester fought back to cut the deficit to two points, but Gilkey’s second three of the night and third of her career gave the Bears some breathing room. Although Wash. U.’s struggles from the free-throw line continued (12-21 for the game), seniors Bethany Morrison and Dani Hoover connected from the line in the final minute to preserve the victory.

—

On Sunday afternoon, the Bears fell 82-72 to Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. Wash. U. was dominated on the boards 46-33 en route to their third conference loss.

Emory jumped out to an early 19-9 lead as the Bears struggled out of the gate. Head coach Nancy Fahey went to her bench early, and sophomore Lucy Montgomery responded with ten points in six minutes. However, Wash. U. entered halftime trailing 41-29.

Emory pushed their lead to as big as 16 with 18:41 to play, but the Bears scrapped their way back into contention. Hoover and freshman Alyssa Johanson got the Bears going, and Morrison hit a three with 6:29 to play to cut the Eagles’ lead to 69-68.

However, that was as close as they got as the teams traded baskets until Emory’s Savannah Morgan hit a three to open the lead to six with 2:54 to go. The Eagles hit four free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

The Red and Green (16-4, 6-3 UAA) look to bounce back next weekend against Case Western Reserve University on Friday and Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday.

The Bears won 61-48 in the opening game of the Wartburg Holiday Tournament in Waverly, Iowa. The team will now face host Wartburg College, who defeated Westminster College 59-50 on Thursday, in the championship game on Friday at 3 p.m.

Three-pointers by Schaeperkoetter and senior Bethany Morrison got the Bears out to a 10-0 lead early, and Wash. U. rolled to a 35-13 halftime lead. Schaeperkoetter led all scorers with 12 points at the break.

The Red and Green capitalized on poor offensive play by Oshkosh to build their lead. The Green Knights shot just 12.5% on 3 of 24 shooting and committed 11 turnovers, leading to 17 Wash. U. points.

Oshkosh cut the lead to 15 with 13:26 to play, but a three by Schaeperkoetter and a pair of free throws by sophomore Jenna Sackman pushed the lead back to 20. Although the Green Knights got as close as nine with 3:25 to go, senior Dani Hoover hit a pair of jumpers late to put the game away.

Freshman Melissa Gilkey had another productive night with ten points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and Hoover finished with six points and six assists.

In the first round on Friday night, Bears were pitted against Northland College. The Red and Green shared the ball well throughout the game, as 12 different players found the basket en route to a 65-45 win.

“With an early lead in the first half, a lot of the players rotated in. In fact, a lot of freshmen got playing time,” guard and captain Dani Hoover, a senior, said. “This team is really unselfish, and we always try to make the extra pass to make an open shot.”

Senior forward Brianne Monahan led the Bears with 10 points and five rebounds, while freshman forward Melissa Gilkey continued her impressive start to her Wash. U. career with seven points and four rebounds.

The Bears dominated the game from beginning to end, as they were able to build an 18-point lead within the first 12 minutes of the game. Wash. U. ended the first half with a lead of 38-19.

Not only was the team’s offense in dominant form, but the defense also held Northland to only four field goals in the first half. The Bears advanced to the tournament finals against Lake Forest on Saturday.

“Every game we try to focus on defense. Defense is hugely emphasized in practice; we were not doing anything special, we were just trying our best to execute lockdown defense,” guard and captain Claire Schaeperkoetter, a senior, said.

The atmosphere of the final was electric, and the Bears had to overcome the home fans’ cheers for Lake Forest.

“It was an exciting game. There were quite a few fans that supported Lake Forest,” Hoover said. “We fed off the atmosphere. It was a fun way to end a great weekend.”

The Bears defeated the Foresters by a score of 66-51. The game was relatively close in the first half, as the Red and Green entered the break with only a six-point lead.

It was back-and-forth scoring for a large period of the game. However, the Bears were eventually able to pull away thanks to the superb play of Schaeperkoetter, who came off of the bench and led the Bears with 18 points.

“Everyone on this team is looking to contribute any way they can. Honestly, what matters most to us is winning,” Schaeperkoetter said.

Next up for the team is the home opener next week on Nov. 26 at 3 p.m. against Hendrix College in the Tip-Off Classic. Head coach Nancy Fahey will attempt a historic 600th win as coach of the Bears.

“We actually haven’t really talked about going for Coach Fahey’s 600th win. She has had a lot of success, and it is great to be part of this milestone,” Hoover said. “This just shows how great of a coach she is and how she has coached great teams.”

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Nancy Fahey celebrates her fifth NCAA Division III women’s basketball national championship on March 20, 2010 by cutting the net in Bloomington, Ill. Fahey was chosen for induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on July 23, 2011.

Fahey was tabbed in late July for induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and will be one of six members of the hall’s Class of 2012.

“[I was] surprised, shocked, humbled, honored,” Fahey said of hearing that she was selected. “It was a surprise to me.”

The announcement took place during halftime of the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game on July 23, before a national audience via ABC.

Fahey’s selection comes on the heels of another spectacular season, in which she coached the Bears to a 25-6 record and the ninth national championship game of her career.

“I’ve worked with Nancy since 1986, and I knew that we had someone that was very special,” athletic director John Schael said. “Not only as a coach, but as a person. And she has not disappointed throughout the years. She’s an incredible coach, incredible person and outstanding leader.”

As one of only two coaches in the history of the University’s women’s basketball program, Fahey has been a model of both consistency and excellence during her 25-year tenure. She sports a career record at Wash. U. of 596-106 (a .849 winning percentage) and has never finished less than 11 games over .500 in a single season.

The .849 winning percentage is second in NCAA women’s basketball across all divisions, behind only University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma. The Bears have never lost more than eight games in a season with Fahey at the helm.

With all of the success, however, Fahey was quick to acknowledge that the award is just as much a testament to the players at Wash. U. as it is to her.

“This is a team sport, and I think of [the award] as a team recognition,” Fahey said. “It’s the coaches I’ve worked with, the administration, but most importantly the student athletes. This is a shared honor; I’m very well aware of it.”

Her players, however, contend that Fahey’s coaching ability has been just as crucial to the program’s success.

“Coach Fahey is a basketball genius. She is the architect of the best defensive and offensive systems that I have ever seen,” said Jaimie McFarlin, the school’s all-time leading rebounder and a member of the 2010 championship team. “The way our teams played reflected the passion she brought to the [Wash. U.] Fieldhouse every day, and we all learned from her the importance of dedication and paying attention to details.”

After lettering four times at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, serving as the team’s captain her senior year, Fahey coached at the high-school level in Wisconsin and Illinois until she was hired  by Wash. U. in 1986. Since then, she has been an assistant coach at the 1995 U.S. Olympic Festival and was a court coach for USA Women’s Basketball in 2001.

All of Fahey’s years with the Bears have been successful, but possibly none more so than the late ‘90s, when the team won an unprecedented four straight national championships between 1998 and 2001. With these titles and the championship in 2010, she has led Wash. U. to five national titles, a Division III best.

Yet when asked about the highlights of her time here at Wash. U., Fahey reflected on the smaller, less-noticeable moments with her team.

“The moments in practices, when something happens that’s funny, or a game that you’re not supposed to win and you win….It doesn’t necessarily always hinge on national championships,” Fahey said. “So my highlights just seem to be something that, a lot of times, people never see. And those are the important things that I cherish.”

Fahey will also be the only coach or student athlete from a Division III school to be inducted—an honor that she hopes she won’t hold for long.

“I hope the door has been opened,” Fahey said. “There are so many great coaches, so many great players I’ve had the opportunity to meet over these years that are deserving.”

But no matter what kind of ramifications her selection to the Hall of Fame has on the rest of basketball, Fahey’s impact on Wash. U. is clear.

“As the backbone of the Wash. U. women’s basketball program, she has been a great coach, mentor and role model for hundreds of women,” McFarlin said. “Her accomplishments are the standard of excellence that not just Division III and women’s basketball, but collegiate athletics, should be measured up against.”

The date of the induction ceremony has yet to be announced.

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

The Bombshells and their friends cheer on the volleyball team at the 2010 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Elite Eight in November. The Bombshells are a student cheering section started in the fall by members of the women’s basketball team.

Senior Alex Hoover formed the group hoping to garner fan support for other women’s varsity programs. She began recruitment for the Bombshells by contacting the captains of every female team on campus, and received positive feedback.

“Obviously people at Wash. U…their number one priority is not athletics. We don’t go to a school like Duke where the gym is going to be filled,” Hoover said. “I think getting athletes to start supporting other sports is the best way to get people to come to games…I’m hoping that this idea can catch on and people will get more excited so that on a Friday night, a basketball game or soccer game is the place to be.”

Members of the Bombshells explained that although many athletes at Wash. U. have become accustomed to playing in front of smaller crowds, enthusiastic fans would have the potential to boost teams’ performances.

“As varsity athletes ourselves…we know how it feels to play in front of a huge crowd and how much of an impact that can have not only on your school spirit, but [also] it definitely affects your game,” senior Hannah Cusworth, a teammate of Hoover’s, said. “It’s easier to get another athlete [to join] because that athlete knows what it’s like to have the gym be dead, or there be no one in the stands.”

The name for the group was suggested by women’s basketball head coach Nancy Fahey. In a meeting with her captains regarding team bonding, the athletes began to consider how they could extend team spirit to the entire community.

“We wanted to incorporate this idea of school spirit,” senior Monika Monson said. “It’s a way for us to bond as a team and also bond among other female athletes.”

The Bombshells’ first event was the homecoming football game against Westminster College on Sept. 25. Members of the basketball and volleyball teams took to the stands clad in pink, armed with signs and cheers . Dressed in all black, players from the baseball team also attended in conjunction with the Bombshells.

“There was a lot of planning that went into it…we were all doing really crazy cheers and just trying to be loud,” Monson said. “We stood the entire game, all four quarters, and it was cold but it was a lot of fun.”

The group hopes to work in collaboration with Red Alert and the Bomb Squad, a student cheering section largely composed of Phi Delta Theta fraternity brothers. Since Hoover and her teammates are seniors, they hope that working with other spirit groups will generate not only casual membership, but leadership as well.

“If we have more incentives for people to come, I think that’s going to encourage more people to come to the games,” Hoover said. “Unfortunately it’s my senior year, but I’m hoping to be able to find enough people who are interested in taking the reins on this and making it happen.”

While female athletes were integral to the group’s creation, the Bombshells hope to continue to grow and generate interest among more athletes and non-athletes alike.

“I think it would be cool if we came back years from now…if it became a more organized group, like a subdivision of Red Alert,” Cusworth said. “It could potentially become a Student Union-recognized group. That would be really cool.”

The Bombshells will bring their cheers and pink attire to the home softball games this weekend. They will be attending in support of the team’s “Strikeout Cancer” effort.

“It’s a great chance to support our softball team as well as cancer awareness, so it’s a perfect opportunity for anyone and everyone to come out…you don’t have to be an athlete or a female to support,” Hoover said.

Denison entered the game undefeated on the season (28-0) but succumbed to the Bears’ hot shooting. In the first half, Wash. U. shot 57.7% (15-26) from the field and 75% (6-8) from three-point range to build a 39-26 lead at halftime. Seniors Kathryn Berger and Alex Hoover each recorded 11 points in the game, helping the Bears cruise to the second round of the playoffs.

Wash. U. will face the host and No. 4 Hope College in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday. The Flying Dutch defeated the No. 8 DePauw University Tigers 77-65 to advance to the second round of play.

The Bears lost to Hope 47-49 in a neutral site game on Dec. 29 but defeated the Fighting Dutch in the 2010 national championship game to win the fifth national championship in program history and first since 2001. Hope won the national title in 2006.

Saturday’s tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET).

In a battle of top-10 teams, the No. 9 Bears fell to No. 8 Unversity of Chicago in the regular season finale for both programs. The Maroons finished the season undefeated in the University Athletic Association to win the conference title.

The Bears were stifled by the Maroons on offense and failed to get any momentum going in a 61-51 loss on Saturday, which ended a 40-game home winning streak for the Red and Green.

Wash. U. finished the regular season at 20-5 and with a 11-3 record in UAA play, good for second place in the conference behind the Maroons. Though they have a favorable chance at receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Bears cannot guarantee themselves a spot.

“If we get in, we’ll just appreciate the fact that we get to play in March, and I think our body of work deserves the kids to play in March. We’ll just have to see,” head coach Nancy Fahey said.

Sophomore Annie Sayers began things quickly for the Bears, scoring six points to fuel an 8-2 run to open the game, but the team then went cold and did not hit a single field goal for nearly 10 minutes afterward. Even though the Bears took an 18-17 lead with 2:59 remaining in the half, Chicago scored the final seven points to take a 24-18 into the locker room.

The first half was difficult offensively for the Bears, who shot 23.3 percent from the field and were only 1-of-7 from three-point range.

Though the Bears did score the first seven points of the second half to take a one-point lead, Chicago grabbed the lead back and held on for the remainder of the game, extending its advantage to as many as 14 points.

Senior captain Alex Hoover led the Bears with 15 points, while sophomore Kristin Anda had 12 and Sayers picked up 10 more. Anda and Sayers also led the team with seven rebounds.

The Bears faced a number of problems offensively, as they shot 28.1 percent from the field, went 1-of-15 from three-point range and tallied an assist-to-turnover ratio of 7-to-15—all season-worst marks. Wash. U. missed the scoring of senior Kathryn Berger, who fouled out midway through the second half with just two points, well below her season average of 14.8.

“You’ve got to [give credit] to Chicago’s defense. We’ve got kids who can shoot very well from the perimeter, and they sat in really well defensively,” Fahey said.

Making the loss even more difficult for the Bears was the fact that it took place on the team’s Senior Day. Prior to the game, the team honored its six seniors – Hoover, Alison Andrews, Berger, Hannah Cusworth, Jenny Lloyd, and Monika Monson.

“I feel for the seniors, I appreciate what they’ve done the last four years and I think that’s what hurts the most,” Fahey said of her seniors, who have reached the national semifinal every year and contributed to last season’s national championship. “You always want to have your seniors go out on a win. I’ve been very happy for them, but it’s just tough.”

Wash. U. will find out its fate for the tournament at 2:00 p.m. Monday, and, with the bitter taste of this loss lingering, the team is ready to get back on the court.

“Once we hear if we’re in, we’re going to be giving it all we have because it’s our time, for our seniors. It’s going to be the last time we’re together as a team, so we’ve got to make the best of it,” Anda said.

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Senior Kathryn Berger drives baseline against New York University on Friday. Berger scored 16 points against the Violets and 19 points against Brandeis University on Sunday.

The Red and Green (20-4, 11-2 UAA) defeated NYU, 68-50, at the Wash. U. Field House on Friday before outmatching Brandeis on Sunday, 79-47.

The Bears, No. 9 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, were glad to return to their home court. They had played four consecutive games on the road.

“We always are very confident, very comfortable at home, and so these two wins are very important, especially going into playoffs,” senior co-captain Alex Hoover said. “We needed to take care of business.”

The Bears shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half to open a 43-22 lead over the Judges. Senior captain Kathryn Berger led the charge with 17 first-half points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3 of 5 from three-point range. Berger scored a game-high 19 points in the victory.

Sophomore Annie Sayers and freshman Jordan Rettig both finished the game with 10 points, and Hoover added six assists to move within 16 assists of the school record of 427 set by 2007 graduate Sarah Schell. Sixteen players got playing time for the Bears, and 13 scored.

In the only tense moment of the game, Brandeis sophomore Samantha Anderson committed an intentional foul on Wash. U. junior Bethany Morrison. Morrison sunk both free throws and then made one of two additional free throws for a technical foul called on the Brandeis bench.

With the win, the Bears’ home winning streak now stands at 40, a streak that began during the 2008-2009 season.

“We just wanted to make sure we were hustling and we played as hard as we could and that the kids responded that way,” head coach Nancy Fahey said. “I wanted every loose ball to be a Wash. U. loose ball and to play with a passion and a focus; that’s all we can ask.”

The Red and Green also started off quickly against NYU, shooting 50 percent from the floor in the first half and 46.3 percent on the game. Berger led the charge with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Hoover added 11 points and eight assists.

With the game tied, 12-12, Berger connected on a three with 9:30 remaining in the first half to give Wash. U. the lead for the rest of the game. The Bears ended the half on 20-8 run to go into halftime with a 32-20 lead and create some distance between them and the Violets.

The Bears close the season at home against the No. 8 University of Chicago Maroons at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Maroons (21-3, 13-0 UAA) clinched the outright UAA title Sunday with a victory over NYU and defeated the Bears in both teams’ conference opener on Jan. 8.

“We need to win this game just to make sure that we get a good spot in the tournament and also to make a statement,” Hoover said. “It’s going to be a good confidence booster going into the tournament, so we need to be ready for Saturday.”

“What we’re trying to focus in on is just playing our best basketball and then see what happens,” Fahey said. “We know Chicago. We realize they won the conference and congratulate them, but let’s play.”

Eric Chalifour | Student Life

Senior Kathryn Berger moves in for a layup against Case Western on Jan. 30. Berger scored a game-high 18 points in a loss last Sunday at Rochester and fueled the team to a victory over Emory last Friday with a career-high 32 point, 10 rebound and five steal effort.

The then No. 6 Bears saw their conference-winning streak reach nine games last Friday after a 74-60 victory over Emory University before falling 71-61 at the hands of No. 16 University of Rochester this past Sunday.

With the weekend split, the Bears (18-4, 9-2 UAA) fell to No. 9 in the D3hoops.com Top-25 poll and fell two full games behind No. 8 University of Chicago (19-3, 11-0 UAA) with three games remaining on the conference schedule.

One week after using a strong run to close out the first half and take control of the game against Case Western Reserve University, the Bears surrendered a similar run to Rochester. After a back-and-forth first half that included 13 points from senior co-captain Kathryn Berger found the Bears ahead 23-22 with 3:15 remaining, the Yellowjackets made their move. Rochester ended the half on a 12-2 run to end the half with a 34-25 that would hold for the remainder of the game.

“You can feel [the momentum shifting] because our shots weren’t falling, and theirs were, and they were getting a lot more in than we were,” Berger said.

The Bears put up a fight in the second half and never quite let the game out of hand, as the Rochester lead never reached more than 15 points. The Yellowjackets, however, closed the game with stingy defense and strong second-half shooting (52.4 percent) to seal the win.

Berger led the team with 18 points, and junior Dani Hoover’s added 11in the losing effort. The Bears shot 32.8 percent for the game, their third-lowest percentage of the season, and had a season-worst assist-to-turnover ratio of 10 to 18.

“You’ve got to give credit to Rochester for playing some good defense,” head coach Nancy Fahey said. “I also feel like there’s a difference between unforced turnovers and turnovers you do on your own, and in a big game like that I feel like we had too many situations where they were unforced.”

After Sunday’s loss, the Bears have not won at Rochester since the 2006-2007 season.

On Friday, the Bears relied on the strength of a strong first half and a phenomenal game from Berger to get the win over Emory.

Berger scored 19 of her career-high 32 points in the first half to give Wash. U. a 43-31 lead at the break. Her 1,000th career point as a Bear came with 11:08 remaining in the game on a 3-pointer assisted by Dani Hoover.

“I’m incredibly happy for her. It’s hard to score 1,000 points in this program because we share the ball so much. So it’s really a credit to her and her teammates,” Fahey said. “Emory started the game on fire, and she kept answering.”

Despite allowing Emory to creep back into the game in the second half, coming within a 51-47 margin with 12:33 remaining, Wash. U. used strong second-half efforts from Berger and sophomore Annie Sayers to close out the win. Sayers finished with 12 points while co-captain Alex Hoover, a senior, chipped in eight points and seven assists.

Berger also accounted for 10 rebounds and five steals in her best individual performance as a Wash. U. Bear.

“It means a ton,” Berger said of the achievement. “It means that Coach Fahey’s seen me through quite a bit. To me, it really represents a lot of the hard work that I’ve put in, and obviously, I get to be recognized for that. It’s an accumulation of everything, and it’s really nice.”

The Beats will end the season with three conference home games. Play continues against New York University on Friday and Brandeis University on Sunday. Though the Bears will need at least one loss from Chicago to have a chance at winning the UAA conference title, the team remains unfazed. The Bears host the Maroons to close the season on Feb. 26.

“[The standings are] out of our hands, and we’re responsible for that,” Fahey said. “We’re just going to concentrate on playing well these next three games, and our goal obviously was to win the UAA championship, but there are other goals besides that. We’ve got to take care of business this weekend so other aspirations can be followed up on.”

The game against NYU will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday.