Wash.-St. Louis tops No. 5 Rochester

ROCHESTER, N.Y. —  Freshman Melissa Gilkey scored 19 points and freshman Maddy Scheppers added 15 as No. 13 Washington-St. Louis posted a 60-55 win at No. 5 Rochester on Friday.

Washington U. improved its overall record to 16-3, 6-2 UAA, and moved the Bears into a tie for second place with Rochester in the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings.  Washington U. snapped its four-game losing streak at Rochester, winning for the first time since Feb. 18, 2007.

Gilkey had the hot hand for the Bears in the opening minutes, connecting on her first three shots of the game. Gilkey’s fastbreak layup with 15:36 to play gave Washington U. the early 10-4 lead. Senior Bethany Morrison dialed up a 3-pointer from the wing to extend the lead to six, and then a 3-pointer from senior Claire Schaeperkoetter made it 16-9.

The Bears offense went cold for the rest of the half, connecting on two field goals in the final 12 minutes. A field goal by Jodie Luther with 33 seconds left gave the Yellowjackets a 26-24 halftime lead.

Gilkey led all scorers with seven points, as Washington U. shot 33.3 percent (9-27) from the field in the first half. Washington U. forced 11 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of play, and Rochester held a 22-18 rebounding advantage.

Gilkey and Scheppers combined to score the first 10 points of the second half for Washington U. as they regained the advantage for good. Gilkey’s second 3-pointer of the year pushed the Bears’ lead to 34-30 with 16:43 to play. Washington U.’s defense limited Rochester to 2-of-8 shooting with seven turnovers in the opening seven minutes of the second half.

Gilkey’s second 3-pointer of the game got the lead to 44-39, and then a conventional three-point play by Gilkey pushed the advantage to 47-41 with 8:23 to play. Washington U. got the lead back to eight after a 3-pointer by Scheppers and a free throw by freshman Alexandra Keane, but a pair of three throws and a 3-pointer by Danielle McNabb cut it to three (54-51).

Senior Dani Hoover’s floater pushed the lead to five (56-51), and then after a bucket by Rochester, she nailed a pair of three throws to seal the victory for the Bears. Washington U. shot 52.2 percent from the field in the second half (12-23), and drilled 4-of-6 3-pointers. Scheppers had 13 in the second half to lead the Bears, and also finished with 10 boards for her first career double-double.

Laney Ming was the lone Yellowjackets to score in double figures with 13 points and eight assists. Rochester (17-2, 6-2 UAA) shot 35 percent (21-60) from the field and had 22 turnovers in its first loss of the season at home.