LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee women's basketball team used a 17-4 run to start the second half to post a 71-57 victory over Bridgewater in the ODAC-opener for both teams on Tuesday at the Warner Center.

The Generals (2-2, 1-0) held a slim 33-32 lead at the break, but opened the third period by hitting seven of their first 12 shots from the field and holding the Eagles (2-2, 0-1) to just 0-of-4 from the floor with four turnovers in the opening 4:50 of the second half.  Senior guard Jackie Clifford (Tenafly, N.J. / Tenafly) tallied six points during the run, which also featured four points from first-year forward Stuart Ayer (Charlotte, N.C. / Myers Park).  Clifford recorded the final four points of the run to give W&L a 14-point lead (50-36) with 5:10 remaining.

The Generals' lead hovered around double-digits until five straight points from Bridgewater senior guard Jessica Lam cut the Blue & White's advantage to seven points (61-54) with 6:00 remaining in the fourth period.  However, following a timeout, W&L recovered with a 6-0 run featuring a layup by Clifford and four straight points from junior guard Emily Perszyk (Greendale, Wis. / Greendale) to assume a 13-point advantage (67-54) with 3:33 to play. 

The Eagles could get no closer the rest of the way as W&L improved to 9-1 against Bridgewater in its last 10 meetings with the Eagles at the Warner Center.

W&L shot 45.3 percent (29-64) from the floor and held a 42-35 edge on the boards.  The Generals' defense also limited the Eagles to just 31.1 percent (19-61) shooting for the game.

Perszyk led the way for W&L with a game-high 24 points and five rebounds.  Clifford notched 17 points and eight rebounds, while Ayer and junior guard Andrea Ferrero (Ridgefield, Conn. / Ridgefield) tallied eight points each.

Lam finished with 22 points and seven rebounds to lead the Eagles.  Sophomore guard Briana Moore chipped in 16 points.

Washington and Lee returns to action next Tuesday when it travels to Randolph-Macon for a 7:00 pm contest.

-- http://www.generalssports.com --