Washington Edges by Saint Mary's, 66-62
Box Score
CHICAGO, IL – Washington University in St. Louis' women's basketball team defeated Saint Mary's College, 66-62, Saturday at the Viking Classic in Chicago, Ill.
With the win, the Bears improved to 3-3 overall while the Belles fall to 1-5.
Senior forward Rebecca Parker helped the Bears gain the early edge, scoring nine of Washington’s first 15 points. She also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the half. Classmate Jenny Southworth gave the Red and Green a 31-24 lead with 3:03 left in the half when she connected from long range. Southworth finished the first with seven points, and sophomore forward Jaimie McFarlin added six points and three rebounds.
Junior guard Alison Kessler and senior guard Bridget Lipke scored eight points apiece for the Belles in the opening half; Lipke hit an 18-foot jumper with 23 seconds left in the half to draw Saint Mary's within 34-29 at the break.
In the second half, Washington extended to a 10-point lead (44-34) when Parker scored in the post. She went on to notch nine of the Bears' next 13 points, but Saint Mary's rallied behind the efforts of sophomore forward Erin Newsom. Newsom scored eight of her 10 second-half points during a 20-10 Saint Mary’s run to help the Belles tie the game at 54-54. The Belles took a brief lead (56-55) with 4:56 left in regulation when freshman center Maria Canfield converted in the post.
Freshman wing Zoë Unruh came up big in the clutch, though, for the Bears. Unruh ended a five-minute field goal drought when she hit from outside, and followed with a swooping lay-up in the lane. McFarlin knocked down a hook shot off of a set play following a Washington timeout, and Unruh followed with another basket for a 63-58 Washington lead.
Parker finished with a team-high 20 points and 14 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, and Unruh added 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Kessler paced Saint Mary's with 20 points, hitting 12-of-15 free throws.
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