Only one minute into the No. 15 WashU women’s basketball team’s matchup against Carnegie Mellon University on Jan. 16, junior center Lexy Harris made history. After winning the rebound, she bounced a strong, heavily contested layup off the glass to record 1,000 career points.

“It was always such a big goal of mine,” Harris said. “I never really knew how I would play when it came to the college level and knowing that I was able to achieve this milestone as a junior is something that is really special to me.”

WashU would go on to lose the game against Carnegie Mellon by a close margin, 64-61. However, the Bears bounced back two days later when they took on Case Western Reserve University, a strong third quarter propelling them to a 66-52 victory on Jan. 18.

After splitting the weekend’s matchups, the Bears are now 11-3 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.

WashU v. Carnegie Mellon

Despite strong play from Harris, the Carnegie Mellon game remained a close matchup, neither team taking more than a two-possession lead in the first half.

While the Bears struggled early from behind the arc, they kept up through their physicality, beating the Tartans in rebounds and points in the paint. Boosted by three-pointers from junior Sydney Starks and senior Jordan Rich, the Bears ended the half up 32-27 — the largest lead of the game.

The Tartans took the lead with five minutes remaining in the third quarter and stayed on top. However, WashU fought back at the beginning of the fourth quarter to regain a five-point advantage.

But the Bears were unable to further expand their lead. Over the next five minutes, neither team scored a field goal. The Tartans, already in the bonus, added five points on foul shots, but a sole free throw by Harris allowed the Bears to stay on top, 61-60.

With only 11 seconds remaining, Carnegie Mellon stole the ball and converted a layup to take the lead. The Bears fouled to regain possession but couldn’t get a shot off in time, allowing the Tartans to seal the victory, 61-64.

Six of WashU’s 14 turnovers occurred in the last five minutes of game play. Combined with team foul trouble — which put Carnegie Mellon in the bonus for most of the fourth quarter — the Bears were unable to hold onto the lead.

Beyond achieving 1,000 career points, Harris also tied her season high of 37 points and reached a new career high in rebounds with 21, tallying her third double-double of the season. 

WashU v. Case Western

WashU headed into the game against Case Western with a clean slate.

“Our biggest focus was just to not let the Carnegie game affect how we played and come in and have a fresh start,” Harris said. “The worst thing that you can do is let a loss roll over into the next game.”

The Bears started the first quarter with a commanding 6-1 run over the Spartans. However, Case Western chipped away to take the lead, ending the quarter with a 12-10 advantage.

The Bears hit a scoring drought for the first four minutes of the second quarter, which was broken by a three-pointer from junior Sidney Rogers. WashU cut the deficit to as little as one, although the half ended with the Spartans up 26-23.

The third quarter began with the Spartans taking their biggest lead of the night, 32-25. However, the Bears fought back with a dominant 13-0 run led by Starks, who hit three three-point shots in the span of two minutes. At the whistle, the Bears had taken a 47-36 lead.

“Sydney Starks has really been an X factor kid, as our coach says,” Harris said. “She was really carrying the team and standing up and showing out in a really big moment.”

The beginning of the fourth quarter saw lots of action. After Rogers made two free throws, the Bears took a 20-point lead with 4:28 remaining. While the Spartans brought their deficit to only 12 points, a jumper by sophomore Cecilia O’Grady ended the game with a score of 66-52.

The game’s high scorer was junior Alyssa Hughes with 17 points and two steals. Starks, junior Catherine Goodwin, and Harris also hit double digits, with the center recording three blocks. Junior Amelia Rosin had a career-high of 14 boards this game.

WashU will take on the defending national champion New York University (NYU) on Friday, Jan. 23 at 7:00 p.m. in St. Louis. The Violets currently boast a 76-game winning streak, which is second in DIII behind the Bears’ own run from 1998 to 2001.

“We’re going to prepare [for NYU] the exact same way that we prepared for every other team we’ve played this season,” Harris said. “At the end of the day, they’re just another basketball team and we can beat them just like we can beat any other team out there.”

WashU will also host Brandeis University on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 12:00 p.m.