Maya Arnott dribbles past a Case Western defender in the regular season conference play. (Photo by Frank Jiang)

Following a tight home-win against Carnegie Mellon University, the WashU women’s basketball team took the trek up north to face heavily favored and UAA conference rival University of Chicago in the regular season finale. The Bears came into the game with a record of 17-7, while UChicago entered with a record of 21-3 and was ranked 14th in the nation. 

WashU began the game hot as they got out to a quick 6-0 lead, and this lead blossomed to 10-2 very early in the first quarter. But as the first quarter progressed, the Maroons made a run and cut the Bear’s lead down to three, following the end of the first quarter. 

The start of the second quarter saw a back-and-forth exchange, but as the quarter was coming to a close, the Maroons went on an 8-0 run and took a 38-32 lead into halftime. The momentum UChicago had gathered during the end of the second quarter continued into the third quarter, as the Maroons extended their lead to double digits. But the Bears did not go down easily, as they ended the quarter on a 7-2 run to cut the Maroons’ lead to five following the end of the third quarter. 

WashU continued their hot streak by going on a 7-2 run to begin the fourth quarter, led by senior forward Maya Arnott. Following a pair of free throws from senior guard Karisa Grandison, the Bears took their first lead since the second quarter. As the quarter progressed, both teams kept going back and forth with each other, but UChicago eventually pulled away. Free throws were the difference at the end, as the Maroons knocked down their free throws to end the game on a 9-1 run to secure a 71-63 win.

The story of the entire game was the free-throw shooting, as WashU shot a putrid 46.2% while their opponents from the north shot 80.0%. In addition, the Bears underperformed from the 3-point range, as they ended with a 3-point field goal percentage of 20.0%. 

Although the loss was disappointing, Arnott continued her terrific season as she scored a team-high of 25 points in 34 minutes, which was her 19th double-digit scoring game. 

The Bears ended the season with a record of 17-8 and a conference record of 10-4, finishing third in the conference. WashU plays Trine on Friday, March 3 at 5:15 p.m. in their first round game of the NCAA tournament.