Student Life | Elaheh Khazi

It was a defensive clinic for the No. 13 Washington University Bears on Saturday as they crossed the Mississippi River to visit the nearby Millikin University. Led by stellar play from junior guard Hayden Doyle, the Bears claimed their seventh victory of the season.

The Bears held the Big Blue to just 47 points, their strongest defensive performance of the season thus far. 

“We had two really good practices with a big emphasis on defense this week after our Webster game,” Doyle said. “We wanted to get back to our concepts and play WashU defense, and I thought we did a great job today.” 

After a slow start in which the Bears scored just one point in the contest’s first six-and-a-half minutes, things remained close for a majority of the game, with no team building a lead greater than seven points. That is until the Bears took a commanding double-digit edge with a little less than six minutes remaining. 

Their second-half run, in which the Bears outscored Millikin by 19, was fueled by back-to-back threes by Doyle and Sophomore Will Grudzinski. The three-ball was working for WashU all game, as they shot over 52% from behind the arc overall. But it was the stalwart defense by the Bears that led them to their win.

With 10 minutes to go in a one-possession game, WashU turned their defensive intensity up a notch. From that point on, Millikin’s day became miserable, missing 10/14 shots, including six in a row. 

“I thought our guys really got better the last couple days in practice,” Bears head coach, Pat Juckem, said. “Our last two games in particular, [we] felt there had been some slippage …We got back to basics, nothing super extravagant. We took a step and just executed our defensive philosophy.”

Turnovers were key for the Bears, as they forced 16 from Millikin and scored 12 points from them. Overall, Millikin was held to a measly 32.7% from the field, including a ghastly 10.5% from three and going 0-9 in the second half. All game, the Bears refused to concede good looks.

The Bears scored 16 points off the fast-break Saturday, a style of play that continues to be a point of emphasis early in the season. 

“It’s something we certainly prioritize, you know? Our kind of moniker is ‘Defend, rebound, run,” Juckem said. 

Student Life | Elaheh Khazi

The commitment to defense and the fastbreak have worked well together. The Bears have done well in all three phases so far, outrebounding and leading in fastbreak points in each of their last three contests. “The best time to score in transition is after a miss,” 

Doyle led the way with a game-high 21 points to go along with 6 boards and 2 assists, in addition to a block and a steal. 

“We just have to continue to emphasize the importance of our fundamentals, like defense and rebounding, and stick together through the good and bad games,” Doyle remarked. 

After a difficult stretch consisting of eight games in 22 days, the Bears will get a much-needed period of rest before they look to continue a strong start to the season on Dec 16. at home versus Fontbonne.