The Washington University women’s basketball team stared down a one way street Saturday. It was lose and face possible exclusion from the post-season, or win and rely on either a coin toss for an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament or an at-large bid from the tournament selection committee.
The Bears ended up going in the right direction en route to a decisive 66-63 victory over a tough and scrappy University of Chicago team. The win gave the Bears a share in their fourth consecutive University Athletic Association championship and earned them a first-round bye in the tournament. WU will host a second round playoff game this Saturday.
Against Chicago, the Bears seniors saw heavy minutes in their final game of the regular season. Forward Tasha Rodgers and shooting guard Sara Ettner took it upon themselves to continue the Bears’ run of UAA dominance. Rodgers notched 14 points and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes, while Ettner poured in 17 points during 34 minutes of playing time. Three of Ettner’s 17 points came on a three-pointer with 1:01 left in the second half to break a 59-59 tie.
Overcoming a seven-point deficit at halftime, the Bears took the lead late in the second half. Ettner’s late-game heroics sealed the victory for WU, who now will enter the postseason in anticipation of grabbing their fourth straight national championship.
Since the Bears tied the New York University Violets atop the UAA standings, and because each squad notched a victory against each other at the opposing team’s arena, a coin flip decided the immediate fate for both teams’ post-season appearance. The Violets won the coin toss and received the conference’s automatic bid, shifting WU’s fate to the hands of the NCAA selection committee. Nevertheless, WU remained a heavy favorite to enter the tournament due to their No.1 ranking as seen on D3Hoops.com.
The Bears learned of their fate late Sunday night, as they found out they would get a bye in the first round and take on the winner of Wednesday’s Wisconsin-Eau Claire (22-5) vs. Lakeland (24-3) first-round game.
The second-round game is scheduled for Saturday, March 3 at the Field House.
In order to gain the bye and the right to host the second round game, the Bears had to defeat a University of Chicago team whose only home loss came at the hands of NYU. Although WU started out of the gate slowly on Saturday, they were able to overcome it and leave with a win. However, the Bears will be facing much stiffer competition in the NCAA tournament, where early leads can transfer into tragic defeats. WU has made it a habit as of late to let other teams establish the tempo.
“We have definitely talked about [the slow starts],” said sophomore forward, Jen Rudis. “We know if we want to get anywhere we can’t come out and play like that.”
The Bears led by only two at the end of the first half against Emory last week, and were down by seventeen in the first half in their narrow loss at NYU. While most of the Bears’ opponents were not playing for a championship this season, every team in the
tournament will be.
Regardless, this isn’t enough to worry the battle-tested Rodgers.
“I don’t think there’s any team in this division that can finish [us] off,” she said.
“We’ve gotten off to slow starts, but there is no one that can put us away. I attribute [slow starts] as our [personal] weakness.”
Emotions are running high as the Bears enter March. WU, which appeared invincible last year, no longer has to concern itself with the consecutive games winning streak. As opposed to the title teams of the past couple years, this year’s Bears team will have to worry about a championship ring and the ring alone.
“We’re just different in all aspects,” said Ettner. “[We have] somewhat of a different
talent level. [We are] a little more inconsistent.”
Said Rodgers: “There’s definitely a difference between this year and last year’s team at least. We had an entirely different chemistry. We’re still looking for one another on the court. There is a difference. I’m not really worried. We have to come out with passion and love for the game.”