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ABILENE, Texas — Sophomore Hallie Hutchens scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the third-ranked Washington University women's basketball team advanced to the elite eight for the seventh time in school history with a 83-65 win over St. Norbert College in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball sectional semifinals from the Mabee Complex in Abilene, Texas.

Washington University (26-1) will take on Trinity (Texas) in the sectional final at 7 p.m. on Saturday with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Final Four set for March 21-22 in Terre Haute, Ind.

With the win, Washington University moved into second place on the all-time NCAA Tournament wins list with 33 and head coach Nancy Fahey moved into a tie for 13th place all-time in Division III with 403 victories.

"The kids were ready to play," said Fahey. "That is the credit to them. Coaches always talk about slow starts, but they were ready to go tonight."

Washington U. opened the game by scoring the first seven points and then extended the lead to 15-2 on senior Laura Crowley's second 3-pointer of the game. St. Norbert fought back with consistent shooting from the outside to cut the WU lead to 17-10, but the Bears answered by pounding the ball inside. Senior Jennifer Rudis connected on a three-point play and senior Danielle Battle had back-to-back putback layups as Washington U. had the 38-24 lead with 6:12 remaining in the half.

"The 3-pointer is a big part of my game and I looked for the shot I got some open looks in the first half," said Crowley. "If you hit a few outside shots then they have to respect you and then it helps open up the inside game."

Crowley led the Bears with 13 points in the first half while Hutchens had 11 points and eight rebounds. The Bears had 30 points in the paint in the first half as they shot .462 (18-39) from the field.

Hutchens scored six of the first 11 points to open the half as WU moved ahead 59-37 with 15:47 left in the second half by scoring. St. Norbert hit their first field goal of the second half with 15:25 remaining as the Green Knights scored the next seven points to cut the lead to 59-44. The Bears continued to pound the ball inside as they extended their lead to 73-52 on three baskets by Hutchens.

Hutchens was 11-for-18 from the field as she surpassed her career high of 19 points, which she set a season ago in a 66-60 loss to UW-Stevens Point in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Crowley and Rudis finished the contest with 13 points while junior Lesley Hawley added 11. Rudis added nine rebounds as she moved into eighth place on the all-time list at WU with 563 rebounds. The Bears outrebounded St. Norbert 52-30 in the win.

St. Norbert, who had won 19 in a row before the loss, ends the season with a 23-5 record. Abbey Johnson led the Green Knights of the bench with 19 points and six rebounds.