NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Washington and Lee women's basketball team overcame a cold first half to defeat Rose-Hulman, 51-45, on the first day of the Music City Classic on Sunday afternoon.
 
The win improves the Generals to 5-5 overall, while the loss drops the Fightin' Engineers to 1-8 overall.
 
The Generals fell behind, 6-2, early in the first quarter but pulled ahead after a 10-3 run to close the opening frame. Both teams stumbled in the second quarter, as Rose-Hulman outscored W&L, 8-7, to give the Generals a 19-17 halftime lead.
 
W&L began to pull away in the third quarter and led by as many as 11 points after a pair of free throws with 2:20 remaining from sophomore guard Erin Addison (Waxhaw, N.C./Weddington).
 
Rose-Hulman tied the game in the fourth after opening on a 9-1 run, but a three from Addison and a layup from senior forward Andy Smithey (Charlotte, N.C./Saint Mary's School) bumped the Generals' lead back to five points.
 
The Fightin' Engineers pulled back to within two points with 15 seconds remaining, but two free throws each from senior guard Taylor Casey (Brentwood, Tenn./Franklin Road Academy) and sophomore guard Jordan Diehl (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) secured the win for the Blue and White.
 
Casey finished with a game-high 14 points and pulled down four rebounds, while Addison contributed a season-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor. Addison made both of her three-point attempts, and also added two boards, two dimes and three steals.
 
Rose-Hulman first-year forward Nosa Igiehon scored a team-high 12 points on 6-of-8 from the field and added seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals to lead the way. Three other players scored seven points each, including first-year guard Kahlan Jester, who tallied four rebounds, five assists and a steal as well.
 
The Fightin' Engineers shot 43.8 percent (21-48) overall in the game, but only made 2-of-9 three pointers and 1-of-2 free throws, while the Generals connected on 19 of their 25 foul shots. The 45 points allowed by the Generals marks a season best and is the fewest points allowed since an 82-38 win over Hollins last season.
 
For the game, W&L outscored Rose-Hulman in points off turnovers (28-13), bench points (18-13) and Fastbreak points (8-2).
 
The Generals will close out the Music City Classic on Monday, when they take on Simpson at 8:00 pm ET/7:00 pm CT.