The women’s basketball team returned to the Palestra this weekend with a win against the University of Chicago Maroons and a loss against the Washington University in St. Louis Bears, mirroring their performance from a week ago.
On Friday, the Yellowjackets came out on top although the Maroons reformed their game play. UR was up by as much as seven in the first half after juniors Megan Krebbeks and Emily Lyons, and freshman Johanna McNelis consistently nailed free throws, getting to the line with their physical play. The first half ended with UR up by one, 37-36.
After halftime, the Yellowjackets started hitting baskets in the paint. Lyons drove past the interior defense to start the second half. Center and sophomore Jessica Waddell received rocket passes from Lyons for a couple of baskets herself, creating an 11-point Yellowjacket lead.
The Maroons had a short rally, once again gaining momentum. Lead by Susie Gutkowski, Chicago cut the UR lead to one point with seven minutes left.
UR would soon get back on track with a 13-4 run of their own until the very last minute. Lyons and Krebbeks made some great plays to steer this run in the final minutes of the game. The final score was 68-59 in favor of the Yellowjackets.
Waddell scored a career high 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three. Coming off the bench, Lyons also scored a career high 16 points, contributed five assists and added three steals in 22 minutes of play. Starting point guard and junior Emily Bango did not disappoint anyone, shooting 8-10 from the charity stripe, totaling 11 points and dishing out five assists.
UR started their game last Sunday with a bang against the Bears, hoping to avenge their loss from last week in Missouri. They started with an 8-2 run, forcing the Bears to take a timeout less than four minutes into the game.
Freshman Alex Porter and Lyons each sank baskets to give UR a nine point lead with 11 minutes left in the first half. UR ended the half with a comfortable lead, 37-25.
“We came out very strong and went after them on both ends of the court,” head coach Jim Scheible said.
Unfortunately, UR’s defense broke down after halftime. The Bears outpaced the Yellowjackets, scoring eight fast break points that hurt UR incredibly.
The Bears got their first lead nine minutes into the second half. Kelly Manning’s conventional three-point play nine minutes into the second half helped the Bears to their first lead of the afternoon.
The Bears played tight defense in the last minute, preventing UR from getting good access to the basket. The game closed out with a couple of free throws from Washington with UR losing 66-62.
“[The Bears] are a very talented and experienced team,” Scheible said. “Overall, we played well and will hopefully now understand what it takes to win the games against the best teams in the country down the stretch.”
Despite the loss, Porter earned a well-deserved double-double, scoring 17 points and pulling down twelve rebounds.
Bango played another good game with four points, eight assists and five rebounds.
UR boosted their record to 15-5 overall and 6-3 in University Athletic Association play. They will host Brandeis University and New York University this Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Lee can be reached at alee@campustimes.org.
