Graduate student Jessica Brooks scored her 10th double-double again Case Western on Feb. 14. (Rachel Benitez-Borrego | Staff Photographer)

Coming off of a three-game losing streak, the WashU women’s basketball team went 1-1 on the road, battling in close games against Case Western Reserve University and Carnegie Mellon University on Feb. 14 and 16. The Bears narrowly beat the Case Western Spartans 62-61 but fell to the Carnegie Mellon Tartans 76-70, leaving the team 5-6 in conference play. 

With a close game on Friday night that resulted in 14 lead changes, the Bears were led by their dominance on the boards, out rebounding Case Western 53-31. Despite shots not falling for the WashU Bears, an impressive 27 offensive rebounds allowed them to pull away from the Spartans, leading 25-8 in second-chance points. 

Graduate student guard Jessica Brooks highlighted the team’s toughness heading into the second half. 

“At halftime, Coach [Lisa] Stone came in and told us offensive rebounds are what is keeping us in this game because we’re not hitting shots,” Brooks said. “So, we just had the mentality that the possession is not over after the first shot and that the second chance points are a really good way for us to get back into it and stay in the game.”

Aside from their strength on the boards, WashU adopted their game plan to force the Spartans into the lane, hoping to take away the 3-point line after the Spartans hit 13 3-pointers against the Bears when they met earlier in the season, a 67-54 loss for the Bears. 

“Since then, we’ve focused on defense and making it really tough for shooters,” Brooks said. “We adjusted our game plan almost entirely to force Case to drive the ball … and our goal was for them to have six made threes.” 

The Bears accomplished this goal, holding Case Western to just five 3-pointers throughout the game. 

WashU was led by Brooks, who earned her season-best in scoring and her 10th double-double of the season, putting up 26 points and 14 rebounds. Sophomore center Lexy Harris also recorded her eighth double-double, with 10 points and 12 rebounds. In addition, Brooks spotlighted the efforts of junior forward Jordan Rich, who contributed eight points and six rebounds coming off the bench. 

The Bears began the last away game of their road trip against the Carnegie Mellon Tartans with a quick start. In the first minute and a half, Brooks hit back-to-back 3-pointers. As the Tartans began to find their rhythm, the Bears were able to go on an 11-0 run. The first quarter ended with the Bears ahead 19-8. 

The Tartans began chipping away at the Bears’ lead in the second quarter. The Bears could not score for four minutes, causing the Tartans to take a 24-23 lead. A jumper by junior forward Nailah McBeth, two made free throws from first-year guard Ava Blagojevich, and one free throw by sophomore guard Catherine Goodwin allowed the Bears to end the quarter up by one, with a score of 30-29 going into halftime.

It took two and a half minutes for the Bears to score their first points of the second half falling behind Carnegie Mellon until Brooks hit a 3-pointer to tie the game back up. The Tartans began to build up a lead slowly. The third quarter ended with the Bears down by seven points. 

The final quarter began with the Tartans continuing to grow their lead. In response, the Bears went on an impressive 8-0 run, which concluded with a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Alyssa Hughes. A jumper by Harris further cut the Tartans’ lead, making the score 71-68. With just nine seconds left, the Bears were down 74-68. Both teams went to the free throw line until the game ended with the Bears losing 76-70 to the Tartans.

Brooks finished the game with 21 points and nine rebounds, leading the team in both categories. Harris also had an impressive game, putting up 12 points, 6 rebounds, and two blocks. Other notable scorers were Hughes, who scored 12 points, and sophomore guard Sidney Rogers, who scored 11 points. The team also impressively made 50% of their 3-pointers, going 9-18 from behind the arc.

As the Bears wrap up regular-season play, Coach Stone has developed a new phrase, “competitive sustainability,” to prepare the team’s mindset heading into the postseason.

“We’re focusing on trying to sustain our competitive edge and all the things we do really well for a full 40-minute game,” Brooks said. 

Looking ahead, the Bears will play their final home games of the season, taking on the University of Rochester on Feb. 21 for the annual Black History Month game and Emory University on Feb. 23 in celebration of Senior Day.