The Bears found victory in the Field House on Friday night setting them up for UAA championship games on Sunday against Rochester.
Fans showed up throughout the night, swelling to over 1,300 at one point. With such a large turnout, the atmosphere was intense and the Bears did not disappoint. With the stands packed with fans dressed in pink to support breast cancer awareness, Washington University’s teams performed some great moves and picked up crucial wins.
The night began with the Lady Bears leaving the Carnegie Mellon Tartans in the dust with a 64-37 blowout. The Bears nearly had two points for every point the Tartans put up. In the last minute before half time Wash. U. exploded with back-to-back three pointers by junior guard Shanna-Lei Dacanay followed up by a quick lay-up by junior Rovina Broomfield. Washington University’s women’s team now has a 20 home game winning streak at risk.
The stakes are even higher when they face Rochester on Sunday, whose tip off is at 1:30 p.m. The number seven ranked team in the nation lost to the University of Chicago, 56-46, dropping 7-1 in UAA play. If the Bears rip apart the Yellow Jackets on Sunday afternoon, they will be tied for first in the UAA.
The Red and Green’s offensive machine was led by sophomore Zoe Unruh’s 12 points. Unruh was one of three Bears with double digits as Dacanay and sophomore forward Janice Evans each contributed 10. Friday night was also alumni night with several former players in attendance stretching back to 1947.
Washington University Sports Hall of Famer Jacqueline “Jackie” Schapp of the class of 1947 is confident of the team. “Coach Fahey’s teams always do well,” said Schapp.
The men’s team kept fighting Friday night and their efforts were rewarded with a thrilling 79-68 victory over the Tartans. Down by ten points with 7:32 left in the first period, the Bears took a time out. Right out of the gate, sophomore forward Cameron Smith nailed a three. With 3:53 on the board, senior Danny O’ Boyle took over scoring back-to-back-to-back treys.
The Field House was filled with emotions as the teams showed off their aggression. The Tartans took it a step too far, receiving a technical foul on their bench which gave O’Boyle two shots from the charity stripe which he made. O’Boyle, who set a career high of 25 points, continued his behind the arc shooting with four more threes in the game. The Red and Green took a 36-30 lead into the locker room.
As soon as the second period began, the Tartans took over netting the first seven points to give them a one point lead. Senior Troy Ruths eradicated the lead with a three point play before the Bears entered a four minute long shooting drought. Ruths, who scored 20 points, ascended to third on the all-time scoring list with over 1,500 career points.
Junior forward Tyler Nading was the third Bear to net at least 20 points on Friday night, coming up with some key plays including a three pointer that gave the team their largest lead of the night with 6:03 left.
Minutes earlier, the Bears had been down 48-51 but O’Boyle was on fire from the three point line. O’Boyle nailed three more treys in a row to give the Red and Green a 57-53 cushion. Each three pointer after the next further electrified the crowd which could be heard to be chanting “D-O-B, D-O-B”.
With this victory, the Bears are primed for their battle with Rochester at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. Fans will be treated to a free breakfast provided by Red Alert.
The two teams are currently tied for first in the UAA so this game could very well determine the 2008 champion.