ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Brandeis University women's basketball team suffered its first University Athletic Association (UAA) loss of the season tonight, 67-57, at the hands of the host Washington University Bears, the No. 3 team in the nation according to D3hoops.com. Brandeis falls to 8-4, 1-1 in the UAA, while WashU improves to 11-1, 2-0 UAA.
WashU scored the game's first eight points and never trailed again. The game was within three points, 26-23, after a 3-pointer by Brandeis junior guard Diana Cincotta (Plymouth, Mass./W. Boylston) with 6:04 left before halftime. The Bears responded by outscoring the the Judges, 15-4, the rest of the way to take a 41-27 lead into the locker room. WashU senior Zoe Unruh scored seven of her game-high 15 points in the streak, as the hosts hit seven of their last 10 shots from the floor.
The lead ballooned to as many as 17 points in the second half. Brandeis battled back, getting within single digits with 3:33 left on a 3-pointer by sophomore Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./Barnstable) that cut the lead to 61-52. Unfortunately, the Judges could not get any closer.
In addition to Unruh, four other Washington players had more than 10 points. Graduate student Jaimie McFarlin (13 points), senior Janice Evans (12 points), junior Kathryn Berger (11 points) and junior Alex Hoover (10 points) also scored in double figures for Washington U., which won its 21st-conscutive home game.
For Brandeis, Kendrew led the way with 13 points - nine in the second half. Junior Amber Strodthoff (DePere, Wisc.) registered her second double-double of the season and her career with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Senior guard Lauren Rashford (Whitesboro, N.Y./Whitesboro) added 12 points of the bench, her season-high. Senior Jessica Chapin (Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima), the UAA's second-leading scorer at 17.8 points per game, was held to a season-low two points by the WashU defense.