ST. LOUIS, Mo. – In a battle of teams ranked 24th in the
WBCA national polls, the host Washington University Bears rode a
hot-shooting first half to defeat visiting Brandeis University,
74-56, in a University Athletic Association contest in the WU
Fieldhouse tonight. With the win, the Bears pulled one game in
front of the Judges in the UAA race, tied with Rochester and
Chicago, both winners tonight.
Brandeis (17-6, 8-4 UAA) saw its three-game winning streak snapped,
suffering just their second loss in their last eight games. The
18-point margin of defeat was their largest of the campaign and
reversed the outcome of the previous meeting between the two teams.
The Judges lost despite 14 points, five rebounds and two assists
from senior Jaime Capra (Old Bridge, N.J.). Junior forward Lauren
Orlando (Peabody, Mass.) contributed 13 points – 12 in the
first half - and six boards. Brandeis connected on just 33.9
percent for the game (21-62), including 19.4% in the second half
(6-31).
Washington (17-6, 8-4 UAA) got a double-double performance from
sophomore Janice Evans. Evans matched Capra for game-high honors
with 14 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, including 11 in the
second half, for her second career double-double. Junior guard
Shanna-Lei Dacanay and rookie guard Alex Hoover also cracked double
figures for the Bears with 10 points each. Dacanay also had a
game-high six assists.
Brandeis held just one brief lead in the contest, after an early
Jessica Chapin (Mendon, N.Y.) 3-pointer put them ahead 5-4. WashU
rookie Kathryn Berger answered with a trifecta of her own and the
Bears never trailed again. The key run in the first half came with
7:30 left in the first half. After Capra converted a traditional
3-point play to trim the lead to 30-27, the hosts scored
back-to-back trifectas by Halsey Ward and Zoe Unruh to expand the
lead back to nine points. The lead bounced between eight and 11 for
the rest of the half with the Bears taking a 47-38 advantage into
the locker room. WashU shot lights out in the first half, hitting
65.4% from the field (17-26) and 77.8% from beyond the arc (7-9).
Washington opened the second half by keeping the Judges off the
board for nearly six minutes as their lead expanded to 53-38 on a
Hoover free throw.