The No. 3 women’s basketball team used a 19-0 run early in the second half to advance to the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen with a 80-56 win over Illinois Wesleyan University March 8 at the Field House.
The Bears started fast and never slowed, as they took a 10-point lead just six minutes into the game. They pushed the lead to 18 in the first half, then made their decisive run just three minutes into the second half. Lesley Hawley led the Bears with 18 points, on nine-of-11 shooting. WUSTL (25-1) will face St. Norbert College at 5:30 p.m. today in Abilene, Texas. On March 1, the Bears closed out the regular season with an 83-54 win over the University of Chicago at the Field House. They finished University Athletic Association play with a 13-1 mark, good for their sixth straight UAA title.
Men’s team loses; finishes year 24-2
The men’s basketball team saw its record-setting season come to an end as the No. 2 Bears were beaten 85-73 by 13th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament March 8 at the Field House. The Bears finished their season with a 24-2 record. WUSTL led 38-37 at halftime, but an 8-0 Titans run midway through the half gave the visitors a 56-53 lead they would not relinquish. The Bears would get as close as two points at 66-64 with 3:28 left, but the visitors finished the contest hitting 13 of 13 from the free throw line. Chris Jeffries finished with20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead four starters in double figures. His fifth point of the night gave him 1,500 for his career, good for second all-time at WUSTL. On March 1, WUSTL wrapped up its second straight outright UAA title with an 85-50 win over the University of Chicago. A 19-0 run that bridged the first and second halves pushed the Bears to the victory. Leading 31-19 at the break, the Bears scored nine straight to start the second half to push the margin to 40-19.
The softball team started the season 5-0 for the second straight season as it won all five games at the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla. The Bears opened the season March 2 with a 1-0 win over the College of Misericordia. Sophomore Victoria Ramsey threw a three-hit shutout and Liz Swary drove in the winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Other wins came against Thiel College (7-0), Muhlenberg College (5-1), Widener College (9-0) and Heidelberg College (4-1). The Bears then went 4-2 through Monday’s games at the UAA Tournament in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Two wins came against Brandeis University, while other victories came at the expense of Case Western Reserve University and Rochester. Both losses came against Emory University.
The No. 10 women’s tennis team improved to 4-1 on the year with a 3-1 swing through Southern California. The Bears defeated California Lutheran University, 6-3, No. 10 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges 5-4 and No. 19 Univer-sity of the Redlands 8-1. WUSTL’s only loss was a tight5-4 decision to No. 8 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. Senior Jenny Stein and junior Laura Green-berg led the way as the duo went 3-1 at No. 3 doubles and each went 4-0 at singles.
The No. 7 men’s tennis team posted a 1-2 at the NCAA Division III Indoor Champion-ships in St. Peter, Minn. In the opening match against second-ranked Emory, the Bears dropped a 5-2 decision as WUSTL captured the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead, but dropped five of six singles matches. In the consolation semifinals, the Bears ousted No. 9 Washington College 6-1 as Washington U. won all three doubles matches and five out of six singles matches. In the consolation final, eighth-ranked Mary Washington College edged out Washington U. 4-3 for fifth place.
Led by junior Kammie Holt and senior Valerie Lasko, the women’s track and field team won its fourth straight title at the UAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Brandeis. The men’s team finished third. Holt, who won her third straight long jump title with a leap of 5.48 meters, also finished second in the triple jump (11.33 meters and fifth in the 55 meter dash (7.73 seconds), and was named the Women’s Outstanding Performer of the meet. Lasko set a school record in the 400 meters with a time of 58.54 seconds, won the 200 meters and ran the third leg on the 4×400 meter relay, which broke the school record for the third time this season — this time by more than two seconds — and qualified provisionally for the national championship meet.