While WashU beat Brandeis University, junior Sidney Rogers and the Bears failed to snap NYU’s 78-game winning streak. (Bobby Kaplan | Staff Photographer)

This weekend proved to be rather turbulent for No. 15 WashU women’s basketball. After taking a hard loss to the No. 1 New York University (NYU) Violets on Friday, Jan. 23, the Bears faced a quick turnaround match against Brandeis University on Sunday. However, due to the intense weather conditions, the Bears played in an atmosphere much like an away game, as fans were not allowed in the Field House. The Bears had to rally together and bring the energy to secure the win.

The Bears started this weekend with perhaps their most important game this season: a home match against the NYU Violets, who entered the game with a 76-game win streak. Currently, the WashU Bears hold the NCAA record for the longest winning streak in women’s college basketball with 81 consecutive wins (from 1998 to 2001). However, the current NYU dynasty is close to taking that title away from the Bears. Coming into this game, the Violets had not lost since March 11, 2023. This game, then, was the Bears’ last chance to defend their historical achievement — as well as potentially take the reins of the conference leaderboard.

And fight, the Bears did. WashU stunned the Violets in the first few minutes of the game, jumping out to an early lead at the end of the first quarter, 18-16. Momentum was fully in the hands of the Bears and their home crowd. 

“We had a great game plan,” head coach Lisa Stone said. “We did a good job of taking care of the ball against the press.” 

But WashU faced some tough adversity. Senior forward Jordan Rich, who was coming off a concussion that occurred during their previous away match against Carnegie Mellon, picked up another injury. 

“[Rich] got a back spasm, and she couldn’t play,” Stone said, “So you’re missing your senior leader out there. And start your best defensive start.”

Additionally, junior guard Sydney Starks, one of the game’s leading scorers, was forced to leave the game due to what appeared to be an ankle injury. Without two of their key players, the Bears couldn’t keep up.

“We did all the right things,” Stone said. “It’s just [that] your margin of error with a team like NYU is so small that we’ve got to just close that gap and keep going. But I’m really proud of our kids’ fight.”

The final score of the Violets and Bears match was 77-64, Violets. But there was no time to sulk over this outcome, as the Bears faced another conference matchup just 40 hours later. However, due to the snowstorm that showered St. Louis from Saturday to Sunday, the Bears were forced to face Brandeis in an empty Field House, as fans were not allowed to enter the Athletic Complex due to safety concerns.

Creating the energy and momentum was left to the Bears alone, and that they did. Despite trailing for the majority of the second and third quarters, the Bears kept pushing and slowly chipped away at Brandeis’ lead. With Rich and junior center Lexy Harris leading the way scoring 17 points each, the Bears finished the game on top with a 62-49 win. 

With many standouts this weekend on the court, one of the key aspects of the Bears’ team was the energy they created for themselves, particularly from the bench.

“It’s been noticed by many places we’ve been,” Stone said. “They’re very integral to the success of our team.”

With this win in their pocket, the Bears are looking ahead to their upcoming home matches against No. 18 Emory University on Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. and the University of Rochester on Feb. 1 at 12 p.m. As both upcoming opponents are sitting in the middle of the UAA standings, winning both games would allow WashU to further secure their number 2 spot in the conference standings. A win against a ranked opponent in Emory would further add to the Bears’ resume for their hunt to acquire a spot in the postseason.

“I’ve got a really good group of young women, and we’ve got a really nice basketball team,” Stone said.