Pam BuzzettaThe wins just keep piling up for the Washington University women’s basketball team.
Last weekend, the Bears hosted fellow University Athletic Association conference members including No. 10 University of Rochester (13-1, 3-1 UAA) and Carnegie Mellon University (10-6, 2-3 UAA), defeating both at the Field House. With two home victories, the Bears extended their undefeated win streak to 16-0, and also recorded their 25th consecutive UAA conference win, their 47th consecutive regular season game, and their 72nd consecutive regular season victory at home.
Although they won 70-61, Friday evening proved to be the tougher of the two games for the Bears.
The Rochester Yellowjackets came into St. Louis with not only the No. 10 ranking in Division III women’s basketball, but their own perfect record on the season. However, after forty minutes of basketball had been played, the Bears were victorious.
In front of a crowd of 1,747 fans, WU came out strong defensively in the first-half, holding the Yellowjackets to 28 percent shooting from the field. After a 15-6 run late in the first half, the Bears held a commanding 40-26 lead at halftime.
“Good teams make runs at you,” head coach Nancy Fahey said. “Rochester was undefeated, and when you are playing a team that hasn’t lost, they aren’t going to roll over, and we didn’t expect them to.”
Coming out of halftime, Rochester cut the lead to five, 49-44, but that is the closest the Yellowjackets would come to ending WU’s unbeaten streak.
“I think it was key that we didn’t panic,” Fahey said. “When it got to within five in the second half, we didn’t lose our composure. It’s a game of runs, and we made a run back at them.”
“Our shots weren’t falling in the second half, but we kept shooting and we prevailed,” freshman guard Kelly Manning said.
Coach Fahey pointed out the importance of learning not only from losses but also from wins, such as this one against Rochester.
“Sometimes when you are having success, you kind of forget to make sure you dot your i’s and cross your t’s,” she said. “Rochester challenged us in areas and brought some things to light that we knew we needed to work on before Sunday’s game.”
“The Rochester game was a fun win at home, but it pointed out new areas we needed to focus on such as rebounding, specifically pulling down more offensive rebounds in order to score more second chance points,” sophomore guard Leslie Berger said.
Their hard work after the game paid off, as the Bears defeated Carnegie Mellon on Sunday afternoon 74-53. While there were only a handful of fans (about 250) in attendance, compared to that of Friday, WU still played with similar intensity.
The Bears started the game by connecting on five of their first six shots and took a commanding 23-9 lead with about ten minutes to play in the first half. With a 19-point, 44-25, lead at the half, the Bears showed no signs of letting up. The second half was much of the same as WU began with a 15-6 run to take their largest lead, 59-33, with 13 minutes to play.
Manning led all scorers with 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Seniors Jen Rudis and Laura Crowley each added 12 points, while sophomore Hallie Hutchens contributed 11 points. Key factors in the win over Carnegie Mellon included WU out-rebounding their opponent 39-20 and the Bears shoot a season-high 84 percent from the free-throw line.
The Bears return to action this weekend to wrap up their four game homestand when they host fellow UAA conference teams Brandeis University (9-6, 2-3 UAA) and perennial rival New York University (13-3, 3-2 UAA).
“We just recognize that there is no letting up this year in the UAA,” Fahey said. “It is extremely competitive and important to come ready to play both Friday and Sunday.”
Tonight at 6p.m., the Bears will look to have a solid effort against Brandeis. Although WU leads the series 27-1 overall, Berger noted that the Bears are not looking past their opponent.
“Brandeis has really good players,” she said. “We will have to wear them down, and having a deep bench will hopefully help us accomplish that.”
As for NYU, the Bears will play them Sunday afternoon at home, then again next Friday at NYU in back-to-back meetings. WU will focus on shutting down the Violets two leading scorers, senior guard Lauren D’Ambrosio and Junior Cassandra Wiggins.
“Not having played against NYU before, I have only heard they play tough, but just like any other team we are excited to compete and are preparing for a good game,” Manning said.