LEXINGTON, Va. – Lynchburg College outscored Washington and Lee 18-4 in the first period en route to a 70-46 victory in ODAC women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at the Warner Center.

The Generals (7-6, 3-2) shot just 1-for-10 (.100) from the floor in the first quarter and the Hornets (12-3, 6-0) closed the period with a 10-0 run to take a 14-point lead into the second period.  W&L trailed 8-4 with 6:09 left in the opening period following a layup by senior guard Jackie Clifford (Tenafly, N.J. / Tenafly) but then went cold, missing each of its next 10 shots until senior guard Emily Perszyk (Greendale, Wis. / Greendale) broke the drought with a three-pointer at the 8:36 mark of the second quarter.

Despite the cold shooting, the Blue & White trailed just 24-11 with 6:49 left in the half following another layup by Clifford.  However, the Hornets closed the half with a 13-2 run featuring seven points from sophomore forward Molly Shephard to assume a commanding 37-13 lead at the intermission.

W&L opened the third period on fire, hitting each of its first five shots from the floor and producing a 12-2 run that sliced the deficit to 14 points (39-25) just 2:38 into the second half.  First-year guard Taylor Casey (Brentwood, Tenn. / Franklin Road Academy) produced five points and junior forward Ailyn Kelly (Clifton, Va. / Centreville) totaled four points during the spurt. 

The Generals cut it to a 13-point game (42-29) following a pair of free throws by junior forward Emma Redding (Allentown, Pa. / Central Catholic) at the 4:40 mark, but Lynchburg responded with a 13-2 run across the remainder of the third period to assume a 24-point advantage (55-31) in cruising to the win.

W&L recovered from its cold first half to shoot 50.0 percent (10-20) in the second 20 minutes.  The Generals finished 15-of-44 (.341) for the game.  Lynchburg shot 41.9 percent (26-62) and held a 39-26 edge on the boards. 

Perszyk paced the Generals with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field.  Casey added seven points and Redding had six markers.

The Hornets were led by Shephard, who tallied 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals.  Junior guard Olivia DeFrancesco added 11 points and four assists.

Washington and Lee will return to action on Wednesday when it hosts Virginia Wesleyan for a 7:00 pm contest.

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