In a peculiarity of the University Athletic Association basketball schedule, days after tipping off at home against the University of Rochester Yellowjackets and the Emory University Eagles, the Washington University men’s and women’s basketball teams find themselves preparing for the same two teams again this week.

Men’s basketball seeks return to form after Emory loss

For the No. 11 men, the weekend will provide a chance at revenge against No. 6 Emory. The Eagles stormed into St. Louis on Sunday, bringing with them a whooping for the Bears, 80-67.

Holden Hindes | Student Life

Junior Jack Nolan dribbles through University of Rochester defenders Jan. 31. Despite losing to Emory University on Sunday, the Bears still lead the University Athletic Association. Both the men’s and the women’s teams play Rochester and Emory again this weekend.

Despite the return of two injured veterans, senior Matt Nester and sophomore Justin Hardy, the Bears mustered just a 30.3 shooting percentage from the field against Emory, including just 6-31 (19.4%) from long range. The woes extended beyond the offensive side of the ball as well. While Wash. U. held the league-leading Emory offense in check for the first half, the Red and Green collapsed at the beginning of the second, allowing the Eagles to sink five of their first six three-pointers.

The loss to Emory snapped Wash. U.’s six-game winning streak and was just the team’s second defeat since the middle of November. Despite an initial drop in the rankings after a top-10 start to the season, the Bears have been mainly successful. They sit in a three-way tie for first place in the UAA at 15-3 (6-1 in the conference) and were named the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Division III team of the week after wins over Brandeis University and New York University in January.

Head coach Pat Juckem maintained a calm composure after the Emory game. “At the turn we’re tied for first and I think we all would take that,” he said. “We’re in a great position. And we know we can get better. I think that’s what our guys have been taught. That’s what they said in the team room after: ‘No one is going to freak out. You’re disappointed, but it’s about what can we take and learn and apply.’”

Junior Jack Nolan is a major player to watch this weekend. Nolan leads the Bears in scoring, averaging 17.9 points per game, but he struggled mightily against Emory, going 6-17 from the field including 1-6 from three, his lowest three-point percentage of the season. He also committed four fouls. Whether he can bounce back will be key for Wash. U.

Hardy will also be crucial for the Bears going forward. Like Nolan, he did not shoot well on Sunday in his second game back from a concussion, going 3-12 from the field. Senior Hank Hunter, the team’s starting center throughout the fall, has also been out with injuries, so keep an eye out for his return. If he does not make it back, expect freshmen Spencer Boehm and Kevin Davet—whose older brother is a junior on the Emory men’s team—to split time in the post. Boehm and Davet have played well in Hunter’s absence, with Davet collecting a few flashy blocks against Rochester the past Friday.

Even with the Emory rematch looming on the horizon, the Bears will first direct their focus toward Rochester, who gave them a run for their money Friday, jumping out to an eight-point lead early and having a seven-point lead with as few as eight minutes to go in regulation. “We won’t even think or talk about Emory again until we get done with what is obviously a really good Rochester team on Friday,” Juckem said. “Our guys do a terrific job and they always rally.”

After big wins, women look to keep up the momentum

For the women, the two games will serve as an opportunity to put together a midseason run after last weekend’s two victories vaulted them three places in the UAA standings. At 10-8 overall, the Bears still stand below .500 in conference play and remain unranked, but the solid performances against Rochester and Emory were a glimmer of hope for a young and inexperienced team that graduated all five starters after a deep playoff run last spring.

Senior Kristina Schmelter has stepped into her role as a leading scorer in stride. After making just three starts last year, she now tops the charts for the Bears, scoring 13.3 points per game and maintaining a dominant presence on defense. Schmelter has started every game this season and scored double-digits in all but four, her height (at 6’ 1” she is tied for tallest on the team) paving the way for Wash. U. to play effectively in the post. Her four double-doubles lead the conference.

Curran Neenan | Student Life

Sophomore Samantha Weaver drives in the paint against the University of Rochester Jan. 31. One of the women’s basketball team’s few returners, Weaver averages 11.1 points per game.

The only other returner to average more than 15 minutes per game, sophomore Samantha Weaver has also been an integral part of the Bears’ interior attack. Also starting in all 18 games this season, Weaver has averaged more than 11 points per game while also grabbing 6.5 rebounds per game, helping the Bears pull down the second most rebounds in the UAA.

Given a freshman class heavy on guards and few returners on the team, a rotating cast of characters has joined Schmelter and Weaver in the post. Freshman Maya Arnott had a standout weekend against Rochester and Emory, scoring ten points in her first career start Friday before helping the Bears out to an early lead Sunday and finishing with a career-high 17 points. Though she has taken fewer shots than many of her teammates, Arnott leads Wash. U. in field goal percentage, a testament to her prowess in the paint, which head coach Randi Henderson highlighted after Sunday’s game.

Henderson observed that Emory double-covered Schmelter and Arnott early in the game, but the two players did a good job of getting the ball to the Bears’ outside shooters, creating opportunities out of tough situations. “We’ve been really disciplined in practice about seeing the extra pass,” she said. “It just takes some training and habits but you play the way you practice. We’ve been really hammering them on ball reversals post-touches, giving up a good shot for a great shot and really using your teammates. I think today was the first day that they actually recognized how open people are.”

Getting the ball to those outside shooters has been a key for the Bears this season. Their younger players, particularly freshmen Sammi Matoush, Molly Gannon and Naomi Jackson, have thrived from behind the arc, powering Wash. U. to the second-best three-point percentage in the conference. Gannon leads the UAA with a .360 three-point percentage and will come into this weekend hot, having scored a career-high 24 points against Emory.

Offense has not been the problem for Wash. U. It has been defense that has tripped them up, as the Bears have allowed the most points per game in the UAA despite being the highest-scoring offense. Foul trouble plagued them during the early parts of conference play, including a January game against Brandeis where the Bears gave the Judges 31 shots from the line.

Wash. U. has been better of late, allowing no more than 18 free throws in any of the last three games, but the issue will still be one to watch this weekend. Henderson said that “guarding without fouling” has been a focus in practice. “I think that is a critical component to playing a game and a thing that freshmen need to learn,” she said. “We’re still in the learning phase.”

Wash. U. should get a chance to show off its defense against Rochester on Friday. The Yellowjackets sit at the bottom of the UAA at 1-6 and come into the game with the conference’s second-worst offense (averaging just 65 points per game). The Sunday game in Atlanta will be another story, as the Eagles are 5-2 and in second place in the conference. Henderson did not want to underestimate either team, however. “These are two really good teams, so it’ll be tough,” she said.

Additional reporting by Miguel Campos