bearsports.wustl.eduThe Washington University men’s and women’s basketball teams ended their seasons in style on Saturday, winning their final games against University Athletic Association (UAA) rival University of Chicago at home in front of 592 faithful Bear fans. The 69-60 men’s victory secured them a third place finish in the UAA with a final record of 16-9, 8-6 UAA.
However, the big news for the Bears’ sports program came on the women’s side, who clinched their eighth consecutive UAA Title, as well as an automatic bid to the Division III NCAA Tournament with their 80-57 victory over Chicago. The UAA title was also their 15th in the 18-year history of the UAA. The Lady Bears finished the season with an unprecedented 21-4, 11-3 UAA record.
Saturday’s games were the final games for the departing seniors, and they wanted to go out strong; needless to say, they were successful. Senior Leslie Berger raked up a career-high and team single-game record of 13 assists and no turnovers, which also broke the UAA record. Senior Hallie Hutchens recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while senior Kelly Manning netted a game-high 25 points to lead the Bears to victory.
For the men, senior Anthony Hollins led the squad’s efforts as he knocked in a game-high 16 points, while senior Rob Keller finished his collegiate career with coming away with 10 rebounds and five points. Success came from lowerclassmen, too; junior Mike Grunst also grabbed 10 boards, eight points and a staggering six blocks, and classmate Scott Stone drilled in 13 points and had five assists in the effort. Every player on the Bears scored at least one basket in the victory. The victory can arguably be attributed to stellar Bear defensive play. The team outblocked Chicago by a 10-3 block margin.
It was a set of solid victories for the Bears, and even though the men won’t be advancing to the NCAA Tournament, the women hope to earn their fifth NCAA Championship in eight years. Tournament brackets will be posted early this week.