Box Score Nov. 30, 2003
Box Score
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Junior forward Ashanna Randall (Media, PA/Penncrest) scored a career-high 22 points and added a personal best 13 rebounds to lead the 25th-ranked Johns Hopkins women's basketball team to a stunning 77-72 victory over top-ranked Washington University (MO) in the championship game of the Bears' Third Annual McWilliams Classic. This is the first time a Johns Hopkins team has defeated an opponent ranked number one in the nation in any sport except men's lacrosse.
The Blue Jays led 46-35 at the half only to have the Bears storm back and take the lead at 53-52 with an 18-5 run to open the second half. Washington extended the lead to 59-52 and appeared well on its way to its seventh straight win over the Blue Jays before senior guard Maureen Myers (Waverly, PA/Abington Heights) took control of the game in the final moments. With the Bears nursing a 71-69 lead with just over a minute to play, Myers scored six straight points to give JHU a 75-71 lead with 22 seconds remaining.
After Danielle Beehler gave the Bears the 71-69 lead with 1:19 remaining, Myers tied the game with a short jumper with 1:03 left.She then converted a layup after a steal by Randall with 40 seconds remaining and nailed two free throws with 22 seconds left to give the Blue Jays the four-point lead. A layup by senior forward Trista Snyder (West Chester, PA/Unionville) pushed the lead to 77-71 with seven seconds remaining before a late free throw by Kelly Manning closed the scoring.
It didn't appear as though the Blue Jays would need a late-game rally after they took a 21-8 lead with a 13-0 run early in the game and extended the lead to 30-12 before the Bears used a 23-16 surge to close the half down just 46-35. Randall scored six of her 14 first-half points during the 13-0 run and Myers forced the Bears to use their third timeout of the first half when she drained a three-pointer to give the Blue Jays the 30-12 lead with 9:40 remaining before halftime.
Washington closed to within nine points twice in the final minutes of the first half, but Hopkins carried the 11-point lead into intermission. The Bears needed less than six minutes to pull within five in the second half and tied the game at 51-51 on a free throw by Lesley Hawley with 10:39 remaining. Nineteen seconds later Beehler's free throws gave the Bears their first lead since scoring the first basket of the game and the lead swelled to seven at 59-52 on a jumper by Rebecca Parker with 8:25 to play.
The teams traded baskets for the next several minutes and the Bears still led by four with just over two minutes remaining before Myers' late-game surge lifted the Blue Jays to their 13th straight regular-season victory dating back to last season. Over the final 2:09 of the game, Hopkins outscored Washington, 12-3.
Randall earned tournament MVP honors as she scored 40 points and added 20 rebounds in the two wins. Myers joined her on the all-tournament team after an 18-point effort in the championship game. Snyder added 14 points in the win and junior guard Ashley Felix (Pittsburgh, PA/North Catholic) chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists in just 22 minutes in the title game. In Hopkins' two wins in the tournament, Felix was 16-of-17 from the free throw line.
The victory also moved Johns Hopkins head coach Nancy Funk to within one victory of 300 since taking over the Blue Jay program in 1986. She now boasts a 299-139 record at Hopkins and has guided the Blue Jays to the NCAA Tournament seven times in the last nine year.
Box Score 1st-2nd/Total
#25 Johns Hopkins (5-0) 46-31/77
#1 Washington-MO (4-1) 35-37/72
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