Junior Sidney Rogers goes for a layup against Benedictine. (Bobby Kaplan | Staff Photographer)

The WashU women’s basketball team played its first home games of the season this weekend at the 24th annual McWilliams Classic on Nov. 14 and 15. The Bears secured their first two wins of the season, handily defeating Benedictine University and Elmhurst University to win the tournament for the second consecutive season. 

“Vibes [were] great. I mean, two home games are always fun,” junior guard Sidney Rogers said. “We had a great crowd yesterday, fun crowd today [for the championship game], [and] obviously, [we had] close games that made it interesting for everyone, but glad that we were able to pull it away.”

In the first game against the Benedictine Eagles, the Bears got off to a quick start, with junior center Lexy Harris converting a layup just 10 seconds into the game.

After an early 4-2 lead, both teams struggled to score until 6:41 left in the first quarter, when senior forward Jordan Rich made a layup, extending WashU’s lead to four. The Bears continued to find success in the paint, converting 16 points to the Eagles’ 2. The period ended with a 19-11 WashU advantage. 

Both teams scored much more consistently in the second quarter. The Eagles improved their field goal percentage from 12% in the first quarter to 50% in the second. The Bears remained consistent on offense, with many different players making contributions, including Harris, junior guard Alyssa Hughes, sophomore guard Ava Blagojevich, senior forward Nailah Mcbeth, and junior forward Amelia Rosin. Despite Benedictine’s improved second quarter, the Bears led at the half 36-25.

The Bears came out hot to continue the second half, while the Eagles struggled. After Hughes converted a 3-pointer with 2:24 left in the third quarter, the Bears extended their lead to 21, leading 55-34. Harris continued her dominance in the paint, while Hughes found success beyond the 3-point line. The third quarter finished with the Bears up 66-39.

The Bears did not budge in the fourth, scoring 11 straight points at one point in the quarter. The matchup ended in a 94-53 victory, as WashU advanced to the championship game against Elmhurst.  

However, the second game would not be as easy for the Bears. In the first quarter, both teams came out even on offense, exchanging baskets on the first few possessions. The Bears soon pulled away as the Bluejays struggled to score later in the quarter. Harris continued to find success both in the paint and from the free-throw line, as the first quarter ended with the Bears ahead 22-14. 

But Elmhurst did not throw in the towel. Through the second quarter, the Bluejays worked point after point to close the distance between themselves and the Bears. By halftime, the two teams were separated by just 6 points, with WashU up 34-28.

“[The talk at] halftime [was] basically like, ‘we’re playing good, but we’re not playing as good as we can,’” Rogers said, “We know that we have a lot more potential here, so [the focus was to go] out there, play our game, and it’ll fall into place.”

At the beginning of the third quarter, it seemed like the Bears were finding a way to distance themselves from the Bluejays. They converted on several offensive plays as they increased their lead to 15, 45-30, with 7:32 left in the quarter. Again, the Bluejays did not give up as they found success on the 3-point line in the second half of the quarter. The Bears led only 52-48 at the end of the third quarter. 

The Bluejays managed to take the lead from the Bears, 56-55, with 8:28 left in the game. Both teams exchanged leads in this quarter until the Bears pulled away with the help of Harris’ dominance in the paint and her strong free throw shooting. Rogers also made crucial free throws at the end of the quarter to solidify WashU’s lead. Ultimately, WashU defeated  Elmhurst 83-70 to win the McWilliams Championship. 

Harris achieved double-doubles in each of the two weekend games, racking up 19 points and 12 rebounds against Benedictine and 24 points and 15 rebounds in the championship game. Hughes and Rogers scored 18 and 10 points, respectively, against Benedictine. Rogers had 18 points, Rich had 17 points, and junior guard Catherine Goodwin had 13 points against Elmhurst. 

The Bears’ success this weekend at the McWilliams Classic will be a crucial confidence booster as the Bears attack the rest of their regular season, as well as University Athletic Association (UAA) conference play.

“I mean, I think we always talk about UAA’s. It is always really fun traveling to spend whole weekends together. It’s really great,” Rogers said. “I’m looking forward to UAA’s, but even more, just home games here, having a home crowd.”

On Nov. 19, the Bears defeated Greenville University 91-32 to extend their winning streak to three games. WashU will next face Millikin University on Saturday, Nov. 22.