GREENSBORO, N.C. – A 19-6 run in the third quarter propelled the Washington and Lee women's basketball team to a 79-72 win at Guilford on Saturday afternoon.
Trailing by three points coming out of halftime, Guilford's (3-1, 1-1 ODAC) Carleigh Perry connected on a three to push the lead to six points. In response, senior
Kathryn Vandiver (Charlotte, N.C. / Charlotte Latin School) hit a layup to start the 19-6 run for W&L. Vandiver's shot was followed by two straight buckets from first-year
Mary Schleusner (Charlotte, N.C. / Charlotte Latin School) to tie the game. Schleusner was the driving force during the run, as she led the team with eight of the 19 points.
The 19-6 run left W&L ahead by seven points with 3:27 remaining in the third, as the two sides scored eight points each to close the frame, finished by a make from senior
Tahri Phillips (Wrightsville, Pa. / Linden Hall School for Girls) to keep the team up seven points heading to the final quarter.
W&L also claimed the longest scoring run of the fourth quarter at seven straight points, which came from 8:42 to 7:11, to take a 68-57 lead. Guilford countered with five straight points to knock it back down to a six-point game, but neither side mustered up more than two consecutive scoring possession following the seven straight W&L points, as the Generals hung on for the victory.
The Quakers outscored the Generals, 16-14, in the first quarter, but W&L had a 10-2 run during the opening stanza to stay within striking distance. Separate 9-2 and 5-0 scoring streaks by W&L prevented Guilford from pulling away in the second quarter, while junior
Hanna Malik (Raleigh, N.C. / Athens Drive) nailed a triple in the final seconds to keep the game within three points.
Schleusner scored 19 points on an efficient 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-8 from the foul line. She also added nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Malik tallied 17 points and four assists, while Vandiver, first-year
Sofia Feigelson (Millbrook, N.Y. / Millbrook School) and junior
Grace O'Connor (Hillsborough, N.J. / Hillsborough) scored 11, 10 and six points, respectively, on a combined 9-of-16 from the floor.
Additionally, Malik made two three-point shots in the game to tie former teammate Kate Groninger '22 for the eighth-most made three-point field goals in program history.
Guilford was led on offense by Lindsay Gauldin, who tallied 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting overall. Perry scored 14 points on 4-of-5 from the floor, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and at the free throw line. Anna Giannopoulous and J'la Hinson were the defensive leaders for the Quakers, logging five steals and four steals, respectively.
W&L held Guilford to 36.9 percent (24-65) while shooting 52.9 percent (27-51) itself, and also held a plus-10 advantage over the Quakers on the boards (41-31). The teams combined for 38 points at the free throw line, as Guilford went 18-of-22 to 20-of-27 for the Blue and White. Guilford finished with advantages in points off turnovers (25-13) and second-chance points (20-6), while the Generals led in bench points (26-21) and points in the paint (44-26).
The Generals will step out of conference play for the first time this season in their next game, a Tuesday tip-off at 6:00 pm on the road against in-state rival Mary Washington.
