Junior Sydney Starks dribbles in WashU’s final regular season home game against the University of Chicago on Feb. 28. (Lakmé Bergeret | Contributing Photographer)

The No. 15 WashU women’s basketball team found themselves in Delaware, Ohio for the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Tournament on March 6 and 7. After an impressive 19-6 regular season record, the Bears were ready to make a competitive run this post-season. However, making it through the first two rounds was no easy feat, as the Bears faced the State University of New York at Geneseo and tournament host No. 16 Ohio Wesleyan University. The Bears convincingly defeated SUNY Geneseo and scratched out a win against Ohio Wesleyan. For the first time since 2019, the Bears will play in the Sweet Sixteen. 

“It’s been a long time since WashU has made this deep of a run and we are not done yet,” WashU head coach Lisa Stone said.

WashU 65, SUNY Geneseo 53

To start their post-season run, the Bears faced SUNY Geneseo. While the Bears came out victorious with a 65-53 final score, the game itself was closely contested with the two teams tied 17-17 at the end of the first quarter. In order to pull ahead, WashU focused on their defensive play.

“I thought we did a good job of neutralizing their inside game,” Stone said. “They’re very good. They want to throw the high-low. [Senior forward] Jordan [Rich] was instrumental in establishing our defensive presence early in that by denying high post ball reversals.”

Rich recorded seven rebounds, while junior center Lexy Harris led the team in rebounds with nine. With a strong defense, the Bears were able to hold a small lead against the Knights until they pulled away in the fourth quarter. 

“In the fourth quarter, we got a 30-second shot clock violation,” Stone said. “[It was] a great moment for us defensively, gave us a big lift emotionally, and it kind of took the pressure off and allowed us to get some open looks the rest of the way.”

In the post-game press conference, Rich echoed Stone’s sentiment. 

“I think our team puts a lot of pressure on ourselves. And definitely at the beginning of the game, we were a little bit nervous,” Rich said. “I think that [our defense] really helped us, and then we were able to start slowing down the ball as we were picking up full court.”

Junior guard Alyssa Hughes led the team in scoring with 19 points, followed by junior guard Sidney Rogers with 14 and junior guard Sydney Starks with 10. 

WashU 73, Ohio Wesleyan 68

With the win, the Bears faced Ohio Wesleyan the following day. WashU maintained the lead throughout the majority of this game, but the Battling Bishops’ offense kept their foot on the pedal, forcing the Bears to push hard until the end of the fourth quarter. 

“It came down to rebounding,” Stone said. “[Junior forward] Amelia Rosin came off the bench for Lexy [Harris] in the first half, and she brought in 10 rebounds for us. They were huge.”

Harris and Rogers were also massive offensive drivers, scoring 45 of the Bears’ 73 total points. 

“I think it’s a matter of just staying aggressive the whole time,” Rogers said. “You can’t ever let the defense break so just trying to keep pushing pace, keep trying to get them to scramble.”

Harris also nods her scoring success to the efficiency of her teammates.

“[I] wouldn’t have done it without [junior guard] Cat [Goodwin], Sid [Rogers], Jordan [Rich], and all of our other guards who just feed the ball super well,” Harris said. “It was a really good spark for us and really got our energy up to then come out strong for the rest of the fourth quarter.” The Bears ended the second round with a 73-68 victory and punched their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen.

WashU will be heading north to face the No. 5 University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh on Friday, March 13th at 8 p.m. The Titans, rated by some as the best team in Division III, are led by sophomore Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year Paige Seckar. The defensive-minded Oshkosh squad is a tough draw for the Bears, but WashU will look to capitalize on a likely low-scoring affair to advance to their first Elite Eight since 2019. 

The winner of the WashU–Oshkosh contest will face either No. 9 Hope College or the No. 17 University of Chicago for a spot in the Final Four.