Road has been good to men’s basketball

The No. 2 ranked men’s basketball team remained unbeaten in the University Athletic Association (UAA) with a pair of road victories.

Senior Sean Wallis had 12 points and a game-high 11 assists as the Bears posted an 80-75 victory at Brandeis University Jan. 30. Junior Aaron Thompson led all scorers with 18 points, while junior Cameron Smith tied his career-high with 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field. Senior Tyler Nading (12 points) and freshman Alex Toth (11) also scored in double figures for WUSTL, which shot 53.7 percent from the field in the victory.

WUSTL had 24 assists and just eight turnovers in the victory, its seventh straight of the season. The eight turnovers were the second lowest total this season.

Thompson scored a game-high 29 points with five three-pointers to lead the Bears to a 67-56 victory at New York University Feb. 1. Thompson was 9-of-19 from the field, including 5-of-9 from three-point range, as he notched his sixth game of 20 points or more this season. Thompson drained a three-pointer from the corner and one from the top of the key to ignite a 27-2 run by the Bears to gain a 28-12 lead with 5:44 remaining.

The Bears have won 76 consecutive games when holding their opponents under 60 points. WUSTL also recorded a three-pointer for the 299th consecutive game.

The Bears (17-1, 7-0 UAA) play their first home game in three weeks Friday, Feb. 6, hosting New York University, and then play Brandeis at noon Sunday, Feb. 8, at the WU Field House. With seven games to play in the regular season, the Bears hold a two-game conference lead over Brandeis.

Women’s basketball tied for first in UAA

The No. 20 women’s basketball team kept pace with the University of Rochester for first place in the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings with a pair of road wins over ranked conference opponents last week.

The Bears defeated No. 19 Brandeis University, 61-55, on Jan. 30 and topped No. 8 New York University, 63-53, on Feb. 1.

Senior Jaimie McFarlin scored 11 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to lead WUSTL to the win over Brandeis. Two days later, it was sophomore Kathryn Berger that led the team in scoring, netting 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting against New York.

WUSTL improved to 14-4 overall and 6-1 in the UAA, remaining in a tie for first in the conference with Rochester.

The Bears will face New York at home in a rematch at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6. The 2008 WUSTL Sports Hall of Fame class will be honored at halftime. The women then host Brandeis at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8.

Women’s track wins Rose-Hulman meet

The women’s indoor track and field team tallied 188.50 points to take first place out of 10 teams at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Indoor Engineer Invitational Jan. 31 in Terre Haute, Ind. The men’s squad placed second in a field of nine schools with 115 team points.

Senior Danielle Wadlington and freshman Katie Hered both met NCAA provisional qualifying marks. Wadlington won the 55-meter hurdles with an NCAA time of 8.47, just 0.07 shy of matching the WUSTL school record. Hered won the pole vault, clearing an NCAA qualifying height of 3.45 meters.

The women’s team placed first in nine events at the meet, while the men’s team four first-place finishes.

Sophomore Ben Harmon won the long jump with a season-best leap of 6.63 meters, and sophomore Skyler Moots won the 800-meter run (1:57.74). Both Moots and Harmon were members of the team’s second-place 1,600-meter relay squad (3:25.36).

Both teams return to action Friday, Feb. 6, competing in the two-day Illinois Wesleyan University Bob Keck Invitational.