CHICAGO, Ill. – The University of Chicago women's basketball team rallied back from a 16-point deficit in the second half, but No. 5-ranked Washington University-St. Louis made critical free throws to beat the Maroons 63-57 on Saturday.

The Maroons wrapped up their regular season with a 15-10 overall record and a 9-5 mark in the UAA to finish second in the conference. The Bears improved to 23-2 overall and advanced to the postseason after winning the UAA title with a 13-1 record.

Saturday was Senior Day for the four UChicago seniors – guard Kate Casaday, guard Maggie Ely, guard Julie Muguira and senior Christiane Murray. All four were in the starting lineup and were honored on the court before the start of the game.

Both teams struggled to get going offensively, combining to make 2 of 10 from the field at the beginning of the game. Two layups by junior guard Claire Devaney put the home team ahead 9-8. However, the Bears started to get rolling on offense and went on a 22-5 run over the next nine minutes. UChicago's offense was bogged down by Washington's zone defense and frequently rushed shots.

Layups by Devaney and freshman Stephanie Anderson got UChicago back on the scoreboard at 31-20. The visitors held a 35-22 halftime lead despite missing leading scorer Melissa Gilkey for most of the half due to foul trouble. The Bears shot 42.3 percent from the field while the Maroons were held to 27.6 percent shooting. Devaney pulled down seven rebounds to go with her eight points. Muguira added seven points.

In the second half, UChicago began to break through the zone defense and get a few more interior baskets. Junior forward Ellie Greiner sunk a three-pointer from the corner, and junior guard Morgan Donovan stole the ball and scored in transition to cut the deficit to single digits at 44-36. A steal and a layup by Greiner got the home team within three points. Muguira then tied the game at 46-46 with a three-pointer from the top of the arc.

For the next five minutes, the Maroons went cold from the field and missed 10-straight shots. Muguira made a jumper in the paint to break the string at 53-50 in favor of the Bears. Freshman forward Britta Nordstrom aggressively drove to the interior and made three layups in the final 73 seconds of the game. But UChicago couldn't net the tying basket and Washington made its final eight free throws to get the win.

UChicago ended the year with a school-record 201 three-pointers, which broke the previous mark of 185 set in 2010-11.

The two teams shot an identical 33.3 percent from the field and made a combined 21.0 percent of their three-pointers. The Bears totaled 48 rebounds and 18 turnovers while the Maroons collected 39 rebounds and 13 turnovers.

UChicago Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal Percentage – 33.3 percent (22-66)
Three-point Percentage – 21.7 percent (5-23)
Free-throw Percentage – 57.1 percent (8-14)
Julie Muguira (Guard, Sr.) – 14 points, 5 rebounds
Claire Devaney (Guard, Jr.) – 13 points, 14 rebounds

Washington-St. Louis Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal Percentage – 33.3 percent (18-54)
Three-point Percentage – 20.0 percent (3-15)
Free-throw Percentage – 80.0 percent (24-30)
Melissa Gilkey – 16 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks
Jordan Rettig – 14 points, 13 rebounds
Maddy Scheppers – 11 points, 5 rebounds