Men’s basketball stays in third-place tie
The men’s basketball team remained in a tie for third place in the University Athletic Conference after splitting two home games.
The Bears fell to New York University, 72-58, Feb. 4 at the WUSTL Field House. The game was televised for only the second time since the renovation of the Field House in 1983-84.
Freshman Troy Ruths finished with 13 points and five rebounds off the bench, while senior Anthony Hollins tallied a team-high 14 points.
On Feb. 6, the Bears rebounded with an 80-65 win over Brandeis University. Washington U. held a 46-14 margin in points off the bench, led by Ruths’ career-high 18 points.
Senior Rob Keller finished with 14 points, while Hollins added 10 points and two blocked shots. The two blocks moved Hollins into eighth place on the Bears’ all-time list.
Women hoopsters split home league games
The women’s basketball team split its two UAA home contests at the Field House.
WUSTL upended No. 7 New York University, 60-57, Feb. 4. In only the second televised game since the renovation of the Field House and the first in 20 years, the Bears earned a share of first place in the conference race.
The game featured 10 lead changes, but WUSTL garnered the last change with 2:07 left, courtesy of senior Hallie Hutchens’ layup.
Hutchens and junior Alicia Herald finished with nine points and 12 rebounds apiece, while sophomore Sarah Schell posted 13 points and six assists off the bench. Schell and the Bears earned their most important defensive stop as time expired, forcing NYU’s Rachel Wojdowski to take a desperation potential game-tying 3-pointer from the left wing, which bounced off the back iron.
Two days later, WUSTL dropped a 59-55 decision to No. 14 Brandeis. Much like the game against NYU, BU and WUSTL traded leads throughout until the Judges’ Caitlin Malcolm hit a game-winning 18-footer from the top of the key with 3.5 seconds remaining.
Senior Kelly Manning gave the Bears a one-point lead (54-53) with a little more than a minute on the clock after she knocked down two free throws. However, the Bears could not overcome a 29-14 deficit in free throw attempts. Manning led the Bears with 20.
Season-bests the norm for track at Titan Open
WUSTL turned in a number of season-best performances Feb. 5 at the Titan Open, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University.
The women’s squad took sixth place with 38.33 points, while the men finished ninth with 9.75 points.
Junior David Skiba helped lead the men, recording a team season-best time of 7.81 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles. The time was good for sixth place in the event. Senior Lance Moen posted a season-best time in the 400, clocking a 50.99 to finish fourth. The men’s 1,600-relay squad finished just shy of a school record. The foursome clocked a 3:24.35, just one second off the team record pace in taking fourth place at the meet.
Junior Michelle McCully posted a time of 59.63 in the women’s 400 to take fifth place. The mark was a season best, as was classmate Laura Ehret’s time in the 800. Ehret finished second in the event with a mark of 2:21.00.
Basketball games to be televised
The men’s and women’s basketball teams’ games will be broadcast for the second time this season on Charter TV Cable Channel 3 on a tape-delay basis.
The doubleheader against UAA rival Carnegie Mellon University on Feb. 18 will be filmed and re-broadcast on Feb. 19.
The men’s game will be aired at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 19, while the women will be aired at 10 p.m.
The men’s contest will be re-aired Feb. 21 at 10 a.m., and the women’s can be seen a second time at 10 p.m on Monday.
Randy Karraker will do the play-by-play, while Earl Austin Jr. will provide color commentary.