Lexy Harris, Alyssa Hughes Each Score 19 As No. 14 WashU Secures Win Over No. 15 Chicago In UAA Opener
The No. 14 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team kicked off 2026 in style with a 68-39 win on the road to open UAA play at No. 15 Chicago on Saturday afternoon. WashU improves to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the UAA.
Juniors Lexy Harris and Alyssa Hughes each scored 19 points for the Bears, with Harris nearly recording a double-double with nine rebounds.
After Harris scored the first four points for WashU, giving the Bears a 4-2 lead at 7:42 in the first quarter, the Maroons responded with an 8-2 run over the next two and a half minutes to take a 10-6 lead.
Back-to-back threes by Hughes and junior Sidney Rogers tied the score at 12-12 with 4:33 left in the period. A layup by junior Catherine Goodwin at 3:25 gave WashU the lead once again. Another layup by junior Sydney Starks with 16 seconds left gave the Bears a five-point advantage before a last-second layup saw WashU lead 19-16 after the first 10 minutes.
The second quarter was all Bears as they scored the first nine points of the period, holding Chicago without a point until 5:50 left in the half. A three-pointer by Hughes at 2:23 gave WashU a 15-point lead, and after a Maroon layup, another three from Hughes sent the Bears to the locker room with a 36-20 lead.
In the second quarter, WashU only allowed four points, the fewest in a quarter this season.
The third quarter saw even play between the two nationally-ranked conference foes, with the Bears extending their lead to as many as 20 just over two minutes into the period on a pair of made free throws by Harris, making it 40-20.
A 10-4 run by the Maroons cut the lead down to just 14 at 3:45. With a three-pointer by Chicago at 3:08, the WashU lead was down to just 12. However, the Bears closed out on a 6-1 run to end the third quarter, maintaining their lead at 51-34.
The fourth quarter was once again all WashU. A layup by junior Amelia at 9:28 was answered by a three-pointer at 8:48 by the Maroons, holding WashU's lead at 16 points, 53-37. The WashU defense held Chicago scoreless for over six minutes.
The Bears scored their final points of the contest on a layup from Harris at 2:46, while Chicago ended their drought with a pair of free throws at 2:31, bringing their deficit to within 30. Neither team scored in the final two and a half minutes, and the Bears kicked off the conference portion of their schedule with a 68-39 win.
As a team, WashU shot 26-59 (44.1%) while holding the Maroons to just 15-58 (25.9%). The Bears also led in points off turnovers (14-3), second chance points (11-7), points in the paint (34-22), fast break points (9-3), and three-pointers made (8-4).