HARRISONBURG, Va. – Junior guard
Erin Hughes (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft School) poured in a season-high 24 points to lead the Washington and Lee women's basketball team past Eastern Mennonite, 80-61, on Saturday.
The Generals improve to 12-6 overall with the win and 9-2 in ODAC play, while the win also marks the seventh straight win for W&L, which ties the program record. The Royals fall to 2-14 overall and 1-9 in conference with the loss.
The Generals opened with a quick 7-2 lead but, after extending their advantage to 16-10, the Royals countered with eight straight points to take a two-point lead. W&L regained a one-point edge before the period ended, courtesy of an old-fashioned three-point play by Hughes.
Holding a 28-25 lead at the 5:06 mark in the second quarter, W&L proceeded to score 17 straight points, capping an overall 29-7 run, take a 45-25 lead with 57 seconds remaining in the half.
The Generals led 47-29 at halftime, after sinking 18-of-36 shots in the first half, including 6-of-18 three-point attempts. Hughes led the way with 16 points on 6-of-7 from the floor in the opening frame, while adding six boards as well.
W&L cooled off over the third and fourth quarters, but led as many as 28 points in the fourth, while not allowing EMU to get any closer than 18 points.
Hughes' 24 points came on 9-of-11 shooting overall, and sheadded a season-high tying nine rebounds and tallied two assists and two steals. Sophomore guard
Megan Horn (Basking Ridge N.J./The Pingry School) notched her second double-double of the season, an 11-point, 11-rebound effort, with the 11 boards marking a career high. Horn also finished with five assists and four steals.
For the Royals, junior guard Chloe Roach scored a game-high 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor, in addition to pulling in five rebounds and coming away with two steals. Junior guard Emily McCombs added 11 points and four rebounds for EMU.
The Generals made 28-of-67 shots in the game for a .418 shooting percentage, marking the sixth straight game the team has shot 40 percent or better, the longest run since an eight-game stretch during the 2015-16 season. W&L limited EMU to 27-of-70 (.386) from the floor, including 3-of-18 (.167) from beyond the arc.
For the game, W&L outscored the EMU, 30-24, in bench points and 13-12 on fastbreaks, while the Royals held advantages in points off turnovers (13-12), second chance points (12-10) and points in the paint (36-32).
The Generals will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Shenandoah for a 7:00 pm tip-off.
