Writing off Washington University's 72-70 loss to Rochester as growing pains might seem a bit naïve.

A program with five national titles that's ranked seventh nationally playing on its home court would seem to have a bit of savvy behind it, until you look at the minutes played Friday. Four freshmen — Melissa Gilkey, Maddy Schepper, Alyssa Johanson and Alexandra Keane — played at least 22 minutes each. The only player with more court time was senior guard Dani Hoover.

And the young Bears had a lot to overcome. Rochester (17-0, 6-0 University Athletic Association) is ranked fifth in the d3hoops.com poll and is off to its best start in program history but stepped onto the court with an 0-23 record at Washington University's field house.

So, this loss pained Bears coach Nancy Fahey, more than 26 seasons and 600 victories into her career.

"It's a new thing for all of us," Fahey said of the playing time for the freshmen. "We just happened to have some injuries, and some people were pushed along a little quicker than I expected. They have come along. They bring a lot of intensity and passion to the floor."

Scheppers and Gilkey proved Fahey's point early, scoring the first eight points of an 11-0 run that gave Washington U. a 14-5 lead with 13 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in the first half. After going scoreless for seven minutes, the Yellowjackets found their shooting touch on a 15-4 run, taking a 20-18 lead with 8:31 left in the half and extending it by halftime to 34-29.

"I knew they would make a run back. They took us out of the flow," Fahey said. "The are very powerful inside. I thought we did a good job inside, but they made some shots from outside. All you can do is challenge the shot."

Rochester started the second half hot as well, making eight of 10 shots and building a 51-39 lead with 13:21 left. The Bears crept back, thanks largely to Hoover and the four freshmen. Washington U. dominated the offensive boards with nine rebounds and forced Rochester into seven turnovers in an eight-minute span, chipping away until tying the score 62-62 with 5:35 left. Gilkey gave the Bears their first lead of the half with 5:06 remaining, 63-62, and the score see-sawed until the final minute.

Tied 70-70, Keane was the victim of a steal by Rochester's Danielle McNabb, which led to a layup by Jackie Walker with 19 seconds left. The Bears then set up a double screen for Hoover, who led the Bears with 17 points, but committed the final turnover. She worked her way to the corner, looking for a shot, then drove along the baseline but stepped out of bounds with 3.5 seconds left.

"I knew they had made adjustments to her, but I wanted the ball in her hands," Fahey said. "She was my senior on the court. She can create. We needed to give her a chance to come off the screen."

Thus, the Bears (14-3, 4-2), suffered their third loss of the season, each to a higher-ranked opponent. Fahey said her goal for the remaining month of the season was to mold the team's personality and get over the hump of beating the toughest opponents.

"It's a personality that's like a box of chocolates, but that's part of the process when you're a young team," she said. "They have to reinvent themselves every time they step on the court."