LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Washington and Lee women's basketball team mounted a big run to open the third quarter to come from behind for its fifth straight win, 69-60, at Lynchburg on Wednesday night.
 
Trailing by seven just after a bucket at 9:34 to open the third, W&L (10-6, 7-2 ODAC) scored 11 straight points, six from senior guard Taylor Casey (Brentwood, Tenn./Franklin Road Academy) on a pair of three's, which was part of an overall 14-2 run that gave the Generals a 43-38 lead at 7:33. Lynchburg (7-8, 4-4 ODAC) responded to take a two-point lead with under a minute to go, but three points from sophomore guard Megan Horn (Basking Ridge, N.J./The Pingry School) and a layup from Casey had the Generals back up by three heading into the fourth.
 
The Hornets scored six of the first eight points to open the fourth quarter, but W&L held its ground from there, outscoring Lynchburg, 16-6, over the final seven minutes of the contest.
 
Both teams fought hard throughout the first quarter, exchanging scores as neither team built up a lead more than three. Sophomore guard Kate Groninger (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) gave W&L a spark with eight quick points, soon after coming off the bench, but the Generals still trailed by one after the opening period.
 
After a three from first-year guard Ana Dorta (Katonah, N.Y. John Jay) put the Generals up two at the 8:20 mark in the second, Lynchburg junior guard Maggie Quarles hit triples on back-to-back possessions to push the Hornets up by five. The two sides traded eight points each over the final seven minutes, putting Lynchburg ahead, 32-27, at the half.
 
Horn, Casey and junior guard Erin Hughes (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft School) all scored 12 points to lead the W&L offense. Horn shot 4-of-6 from the field and dished out six assists, Casey made 3-of-9 long range shots and Hughes connected on 4-of-7 shots overall, while adding eight rebounds, three steals and a block to her line.
 
Senior forward Andy Smithey (Charlotte, N.C./Saint Mary's School) notched her fourth double-double of the season, tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Jordan Diehl (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) logged a game-high 12 boards, her fourth double-digit rebound performance of the season.
 
Lynchburg sophomore center Kate Kolb finished with a game-high 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Quarles and sophomore forward Abby Oguich scored 11 points each and combined for 12 rebounds and five assists.
 
The Generals made 42.9 percent (24-56) of their shots from the field to mark the fourth straight game shooting 40 percent or higher. W&L also sank 7-of-20 shots (.350) from beyond the arc, while limiting the Hornets to 4-of-17 (.235) from long range. Lynchburg finished the game with advantages in points off turnovers (16-12), second-chance points (9-5) and points in the paint (38-28), while W&L edged the Hornets in bench points (17-9).
 
The Generals will be back in action on Tuesday night, when they host Roanoke in a 7:00 pm ODAC showdown.