Maya Arnott, 6-0 forward who graduated in 2022, faces off in a conference home game against the University of Rochester. (Bri Nitsberg | Student Life)

“[There is] no better teacher than experience,” head coach Randi Henderson said after the Washington University women’s basketball team’s first two games.

For a young and inexperienced team, the Bears learned valuable lessons this weekend that can only be taught with experience. After four of last season’s typical starters graduated last Spring, the Bears enter this season needing to rebuild with a new group of young stars. With senior Jessica Brooks – last season’s leading scorer – missing with an injury, the Bears’ first starting five featured two freshmen and two sophomores.

The past weekend, the new-look Bears started the rebuilding process at the first-ever Scholars Classic tournament in New York, where they took on two quality non-conference opponents to start their season. Though their hard-fought efforts resulted in two losses to the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Beavers, the losses, and the development that came with it, kicked off the learning process for the young WashU squad.  

“This weekend was a good experience for us. We are very young and inexperienced,” Henderson added. “They are very good, very physical, and showed our team the gaps we need to fill to be better.”

The young WashU squad started their first game of the season with much excitement, with the team’s six freshman members hoping to make successful debuts. However, the Blue Jays got out to an early lead in the first quarter. The Bears began to mount a comeback as the bench unit entered the game. Freshmen Amelia Rosin and Alyssa Hughes each scored their first collegiate buckets. 

During the second quarter, the team fought back to gain its first lead of the game, after a key layup from junior Brenna Loftus. While the Bears were held scoreless for a stretch towards the end of the half, they went into the break with a two point lead at 29-27. 

After halftime, the Blue Jays went on a run to secure a lead. Ultimately, JHU widened the score gap by 14 points with 3 minutes left of the third quarter. Though the Bears fought hard, they fell off, ending the game with a final score of 56-69. 

The loss was not without bright spots. The game marked the impressive debut of a number of freshmen players. Freshman Lexy Harris was able to secure her first collegiate double double off the bench, scoring a game-high of 18 points and grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. Hughes, Rosin, and freshman Sidney Rogers also managed to score multiple points for their first game of the season. 

“I [am] glad that I could play a big role for my team in [the game] and my hard work is showing on the court. We were trying to take advantage of the smaller posts [during the] game, so rebounding was crucial,” said Harris about her performance at the Scholar Classic competition. 

“Our first years are having to step into big roles early [this season]. The adjustment from high school to college is hard. I love how hard they are working, how hungry they are to get better, and how encouraging and supportive our upperclassmen have been to keep them positive through the ups and downs,” added Henderson. 

The Bears looked to bounce back against MIT on Saturday, but the Beavers got out to a hot start, going up eight points in the first two minutes of the game. The Bears didn’t get onto the board until there were just four minutes left of the first quarter, when sophomore Liv Muse scored WashU’s first bucket. Right after, Junior Brenna Loftus added to the score, knocking down the first two of her eight points in the game. The quarter ended with the Beavers leading 17-4. 

As the second quarter of the game began, the Bears attempted to mount a comeback. WashU managed to score 8 points in succession, cutting the deficit. However, MIT pushed back and expanded their lead. With just 3 minutes of the quarter left, Hughes scored a three-pointer, putting the score at 20-24. Sophomore Nailah McBeth followed with a layup. Still, the Bears faced a point deficit at the beginning of halftime. 

In the third quarter of the contest, MIT pulled away, garnering a 15 point lead within a few minutes. Though WashU attempted to catch up to them, their attempts were unsuccessful. The last quarter followed a similar pattern, and the game ended with another loss for WashU with a final score of 58-70. 

“Both myself and as a team we need to work on consistency and working together. We have very good moments but will fall back on others and if we remain consistent with energy and running plays, we will have further success,” Harris said about the game against MIT. 

“Our goals for our upcoming games are to keep getting better as a team, learning to play together, learning our strengths, and learning to handle adversity as it comes throughout each game,” Coach Henderson said. 

The team will have an opportunity to put this in practice in their upcoming game against Grenville University on Wednesday, November 15 at 7 pm in the Field House, which will mark the program’s home opener. They hope this matchup will provide a chance for the team to bounce back and get their season back on track after a disappointing opening weekend.