WASHINGTON, D.C. – Washington and Lee recovered from a 12-point halftime deficit to take a second half lead, but could not hold on as Catholic posted a 68-64 win over the Generals in the opening day of the Catholic Tournament on Monday at the DuFour Athletic Center.

Catholic used a 14-0 run late in the first half to turn a 22-19 lead at the 6:06 mark into a 36-19 advantage with 1:18 left to play in the opening 20 minutes.  The Generals (6-2) turned the ball over three times and went 0-for-7 from the floor during the stretch, while sophomore forward Melissa Errico scored six points during the run for the Cardinals (6-4) en route to a 36-24 lead at the break. 

W&L still trailed by 13 points (43-30) with 15:36 left to play, but used a 22-6 run over the next 7:07 to assume a 52-49 lead with 8:29 remaining.  Junior guard Paige Corvino (Clarendon Hills, Ill. / Fenwick) got things started with a layup at the 14:43 mark.  First-year guard Emily Perszyk (Greendale, Wis. / Greendale) then heated up, scoring 11 points by herself during the stretch, hitting three triples and adding a layup.

The lead changed hands five times over the next 5:46, before the Cardinals captured the lead for good on a jumper by sophomore guard Bridget Power with 2:43 remaining that gave CUA a 61-60 advantage.  W&L managed just four points the rest of the way as Catholic held on for the four-point win.

The Generals finished just 33.3 percent (20-60) from the floor and 7-of-25 (.280) from three-point range.  Junior forward Shelbi Hendricks (Louisville, Ky. / Kentucky Country Day) led W&L with 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals, while Perszyk notched 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting from distance.  Sophomore guard Jackie Clifford (Tenafly, N.J. / Tenafly) tallied 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Catholic shot 43.3 percent (26-6) from the floor and Errico paced the Cardinals with 16 points and nine rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting.  Junior forward Josephine Migash tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore guard Michelle DeSantis notched 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.

W&L will now face either Misericordia or will have a re-match with Mary Washington in Tuesday's consolation game of the Catholic Tournament.

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