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Graduate student Jessica Brooks play in her last WashU home game. (Ben Gondzur | Photographer)
Coming off a loss against Carnegie Mellon University, the WashU women’s basketball team went 2-0 for their last regular season home games of the year, defeating the University of Rochester and Emory University on Feb. 21 and 23. The Bears beat Rochester 80-64 and Emory University 83-66. In both matchups, WashU got off to a slow start before dominating in the later parts of the game.
On Friday, the Bears put up a solid performance for their Black History Month game.
The first quarter began with the teams trading buckets. That was until Rochester went on an 11-0 run. The Bears were able to tighten the lead before the quarter ended because sophomore center Lexy Harris put up two free throws and first-year guard Ava Blagojevich put up a 3-pointer. The quarter ended with the Bears down 18-16.
The Bears were able to retake the lead in the second quarter with another 3-pointer from Blagojevich. This lead lasted for the rest of the game. The Bears continued growing their lead throughout the quarter and were momentarily up by 13 points, ending the first half up 39-32.
In the third quarter, the Yellowjackets chipped away at the lead and were briefly only down by three points. Sophomore guard Sidney Rogers fought back by putting up an impressive 3-pointer. The Bears’ lead continued to be chipped away until they went on a 7-0 run. The Bears finished the quarter up 68-54.
Neither team had great scoring success in the fourth quarter. Both teams combined notched/scored/sunk/etc. only 22 points. Throughout the quarter, the Yellowjackets could not get any closer than 10 points away from the Bears and were even trailing by as much as 17 points. Rochester scored a couple of last-minute points, but it did not make a difference. Sophomore guard Alyssa Hughes put up a 3-pointer with less than a minute left that sealed the Bear’s 80-64 win against the Yellowjackets.
This game, as well as many of the games this season, the Bears have outrebounded the other team. Their average rebound margin of +13.1 remains the fourth best in Division III.
Harris was the Bears’ high scorer against Rochester, scoring 27 points. Harris also had 11 boards, making this her ninth double-double of the season.
Rogers scored an impressive 20 points, going 4-7 from the three-point line. Graduate student Jessica Brooks also had an impressive night, scoring 15 points, as well as having two steals and eight rebounds.
Two days later, WashU took on the Emory Eagles, for their last home game of the season, on Senior Day. The two seniors, Brenna Loftus and Jessica Brooks, were honored at the game. Loftus is the team’s only true senior, as Brooks is a fifth-year student who is currently getting her MBA. Both players are captains and meaningful members of the team.
“I think the team really did it for me and Brenna,” Brooks said. “They did a really good job. At the end of the game, our coach was like, ‘This is the best basketball you guys have played all season.’ That is exactly where we want to be with one more game left. It was a really special game.”
After the seniors were honored, the game started with both teams playing strongly, both quickly making 3-pointers. An effort, including a pair of made free throws by Loftus and an “and one” by Harris, tied up the game. After an Eagles layup, the first quarter ended with Emory up 20-18.
Although the second quarter started with buckets from junior forwards Jordan Rich and Nailah McBeth, the momentum shifted towards the Eagles as they went on a 10-0 run that put them ahead by 11 points. The Bears were able to make their deficit single digits from a 3-pointer by Rogers. The first half ended with the Eagles up by nine points.
“It was a little bit stressful in the first half, we weren’t really playing great,” Brooks said.
The Eagles brought their lead back up to 13 in the start of the third quarter. Then the Bears’ comeback began, with better scoring and strong defense. Later in the quarter, the Bears were only trailing by one point, and with a pair of free throws by Brooks, the Bears finally reclaimed the lead. However, Emory continued to fight, ending the third quarter tied 57-57.
Emory was unable to find the basket in the fourth quarter, allowing WashU to quickly regain and extend its lead. The Bears’ defense prevented the Eagles from scoring for three minutes, allowing the Bears to increase their lead to 16. The Bears even pushed their lead to 21 points with a jumper from Harris. The Bears played an efficient fourth quarter, making 71.4% of their shots.
About a minute before the game ended, the two seniors subbed out. Loftus and Brooks were given hugs by all of their teammates and coaches and received a standing ovation from the crowd. The game ended shortly after with a win of 83-66 over the Eagles.
Harris was also the Bears’ leading scorer against the Eagles, scoring 33 points. That is the most she has scored all season and two points off of her scoring record. She also had 10 boards, which secured her 10th double-double of the season. Over the weekend, Harris averaged 29 points and 10.5 rebounds.
“Really none of the girls from Emory could guard her and I think we just really exploited that and did a good job of capitalizing on that,” Brooks said about Harris’ performance. “I am super proud of her. She had a great game and she’s been working really hard all week.”
Brooks scored 21 points against the Eagles and had three steals. Harris and Brooks are a formidable frontcourt duo.
“Lexy is insane,” Brooks said. “She is a very sweet girl and any sort of feedback you give her, she takes and immediately implements, which I think is a very special thing that not all players can do. Me and Lexy have a really special relationship off the court and I think it translates really well on the court. She told me where she wanted the ball to go and I was like ‘Perfect, I will get it there.’”
WashU finishes its regular season against The University of Chicago on Mar. 1. The Bears currently sit 48th in the NPI rankings, which determine who makes the 64-team NCAA Tournament. A win against Chicago could propel the team to the postseason.
Brooks hopes to give it her all during her last regular season game of collegiate basketball.
“I’m really excited to just kinda see how our team can finish strong towards the end,” Brooks said. “I think I just need to not take anything for granted. There is nothing like playing basketball, especially at the college level, so I am just excited to work really hard with my teammates and hopefully make a run at the tournament.”