SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Playing its first game in nearly two weeks, the No. 15 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball opened its trip to Puerto Rico trip with a 63-45 win over Dickinson on Sunday morning. The win improves the nationally ranked Bears to 8-2 on the season.
This was the first meeting between WashU and the Red Devils.
Sophomore Lexy Harris recorded her fourth double-double of the season with game-highs in both scoring (24 points) and rebounds (14). She totaled 13 of her points and seven of her rebounds in the first half.
Harris was one of three Bears to reach double-figure scoring as junior Nailah McBeth totaled 11 points along with sophomore Alyssa Hughes scoring 10 points.
Graduate Jessica Brooks reached double-digit in rebounds with 10, while scoring six points.
WashU led in most statistical categories, including rebounds (40-26), assists (14-5), bench points (12-11), blocks (3-2), fastbreak points (5-4), points in the paint (30-14), and second chance points (15-3).
The two teams traded baskets to start the contest with McBeth opening the scoring at 8:31and Harris adding a layup at 7:49. A pair of baskets scored before and after Harris' layup by Dickson saw the score tied at 4-4 with 6:18 on the clock. A free throw by senior Brenna Loftus at 5:54 gave the Bears the lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
The Red Devils would keep it close the rest of the period, pulling within one at 9-8 at 2:20. Neither team was able to score for the remainder of the first quarter.
Brooks opened the scoring in the second quarter with a three pointer just over 30 seconds in to give the Bears a 12-8 lead. Much like the start of the first quarter, Dickinson answered the first two baskets by WashU with their own matching type, trailing the Bears 14-13 with 7:32 left in the half.
The WashU defense kicked into drive over four-plus minutes, holding the Red Devils scoreless from 7:32 until 3:17. During that time stretch, the Bears' offense went on a 10-0 run, starting with a pull-up jumper by Brooks and capped by a three-pointer from Hughes.
After a Dickinson layup, three-straight made free throws by Harris gave WashU its biggest lead of the first half, 27-15, with just under two minutes to the break. Harris added one more free throw with eight seconds left on the clock keeping the Bears' lead at double-digits, 28-18, as the teams headed into the locker rooms.
The second half opened with five more points for Harris off a pair of baskets, giving WashU a 14-point lead with just over a minute gone in the third quarter. The teams then went on to trade points, both on the floor and at the free-throw line for three minutes. A three from Brooks at 4:42 gave the Bears their biggest lead at the time at 18 with the score at 43-25.
Six-straight points by the Red Devils brought the lead back down to 12 with 3:14 left in the period before a jumper by first-year Hope Drake pushed it back up to 14. Two late free throws by Dickinson saw WashU lead 45-33 as the teams headed to the fourth.
Dickinson pulled within 10 on the first basket of the final period, 45-35, but that was the closest it would get to the Bears' lead. With WashU leading by 11 at 8:33, Harris started a 7-0 for the Bears as they saw their lead bloom to 19 points when sophomore Catherine Goodwin hit a jumper with 5:13 on the clock.
The next six baskets saw the return of the point-for-point that was seen earlier in the contest with WashU maintaining its largest lead on a jumper by first-year Tara Murphy at 1:22. The Bears settled in the rest of the contest for the 63-45 win over Dickinson.
WashU wraps up action in Puerto Rico tomorrow, Monday, Dec. 30 when they take on Bridgewater State. The all-Bears matchup tips off at 10:30 a.m. Atlantic Time which is 8:30 a.m. Central Time. Dickinson defeated Bridgewater St. on Saturday, 71-52 in the first game of the weekend.