SALEM, Va. – The fourth-seeded Washington and Lee women's basketball team shot just 21.9 percent (7-32) from the floor in the second half as top-seeded Lynchburg pulled away for a 71-57 victory in the semifinals of the ODAC Tournament held on Saturday at the Salem Civic Center.

The Hornets (23-4) grabbed the early lead, but could not provide distance from W&L (17-10) as sophomore center Emma Redding (Allentown, Pa. / Central Catholic) scored eight points in the opening 4:48 of the contest.  LC led by just three points (18-15) with 1:50 left in the first quarter, but the Hornets outscored the Generals 7-1 in the final 1:35 to assume a 25-16 lead after the first period.

W&L used a 9-0 run over a span of 3:03 that featured seven points from sophomore guard Emily Perszyk (Greendale, Wis. / Greendale) to pull even at 27-27 with 6:17 left in the first half.  The Generals were unable to wrestle the lead away, but W&L trailed by just a single point (35-34) entering the halftime break.

The Generals went cold immediately following the intermission, missing each of their first seven shots from the floor and the Hornets used a 16-2 run to produce a 51-36 lead at the 4:35 mark of the third period.  W&L closed the period with a pair of buckets from senior guard Paige Corvino (Clarendon Hills, Ill. / Fenwick) and a pair of free throws from Redding to make it a single-digit affair (51-42) entering the final period.

W&L went cold to start the fourth quarter as well, with only a pair of triples from Perszyk and two free throws from Corvino to show for the first 9:05 of the final period.  LC stretched its lead back to 17 points and hung on for its third win over W&L this season.

For the game, the Blue & White finished 22-of-67 (.328) from the floor and 5-of-24 (.208) from beyond the arc.  Perszyk led the way with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting.  Redding finished with 11 points and five rebounds, while Corvino tallied eight points and six boards.

Lynchburg shot 42.9 percent (24-56) and drilled 20-of-28 (.714) shots from the foul line.  Sophomore forward Caroline Naumann and senior forward Chaney Forbush each recorded a double-double for LC.  Naumann registered 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Forbush had 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.  Sophomore guard Olivia Defrancesco totaled 12 points and senior guard Sammi Goldsmith logged 10 points and seven rebounds.

LC advances to Sunday's ODAC Championship game where it will face second-seeded Guilford.  W&L's season ends with a 17-10 overall record.

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