Jim Puls/The TartanIt was a weekend of mixed emotions for the Bears. Head coach Nancy Fahey notched her 400th career victory as senior guard Laura Crowley continued her stellar performance, scoring a career-high 32 points in the Bears 62-36 win over CMU on Friday evening. The jubilation was short lived, however, as the Bears’ undefeated season, 54-game regular season winning streak, 32-game UAA winning streak and decade-long dominance of Rochester all came to a screeching halt Sunday afternoon with an 82-73 loss to the Yellowjackets.
While Sunday’s visit to Rochester did not end quite as the Bears would have liked, at first glance, the game statistics indicate WU probably should have walked away with the victory. WU shot 46 percent from the field compared to UR’s 37 percent. WU connected on 42 percent from three-point range compared to UR’s 25 percent, and WU even improved its usually dismal season average free-throw percentage by hitting 92 percent from the line.
In addition, WU dominated in points scored in the paint (38-22), bench contribution (16-6) and second chance points (18-2). However, the one crucial statistic that could help explain the Bears’ uncharacteristic loss is points off of turnovers-Rochester scored 19 points off 24 WU turnovers. The Bears’ defense, on the other hand, was only able to force the Yellowjackets into committing seven turnovers, producing only two WU points.
The victory marked the Yellowjackets’ first 20-win season since 1986-87 and snapped a 22-game losing streak to the Bears, which dated back to the 1991-92 season.
Despite holding onto a 41-35 lead at halftime, and establishing a ten-point, 47-37 lead early in the second half, WU was unable to contain Rochester’s three leading scorers in the final minutes of the game.
Sophomore Kelly Wescott contributed 23 points for the Yellowjackets, while junior Tara Carrozza and sophomore Megan Fish each added 16. All three set career scoring records for themselves and accounted for Rochester’s final 12 points of the game.
Lesley Hawley led the Bears with 18 points, while Crowley was not far behind with 17. Crowley delivered an impressive performance from behind the arc, connecting on five-of-eight three-point shots, bringing her season total to 75 and breaking her own single-season record of 72 from a year ago. In addition, with 147 career three-pointers and counting, Crowley broke the WU career record of 143 set by Stacy Leeds from 1990-94.
Fahey’s 400th career victory in Pittsburgh on Friday was arguably due to another outstanding performance from Crowley, who connected on an unprecedented 10 three-pointers (in 14 attempts), setting both WU and UAA records. Not only was she the only Bear to score in double digits, her 32 points accounted for more than half of WU’s total points for the entire game.
Both teams started out a slowly on offense. WU trailed 7-9 early in the game, but held onto a five point lead, 21-16, at the half. After connecting on only two three-pointers in the first half, Crowley caught fire down the stretch, hitting eight more, and the Bears never looked back. She single-handedly outscored the entire CMU team in the second half 26-20.
Senior forward Jen Rudis and Hawley contributed six points each. On defense, the Bears’ team effort was evident as they were able to hold the Tartans to under thirty percent shooting from the field and forced 14 turnovers.
The Bears hope to bounce back this Saturday, Mar. 1, in the final game of the regular season, when they will take on the University of Chicago Maroons at the Field House at 6 p.m.