HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Washington and Lee women's basketball team broke one team record and tied another in a 56-41 win over Eastern Mennonite in the regular season finale on Saturday.
The Generals improve to 19-4 overall with the win, which ties the 2018-19 team for the most wins in a season in program history. Additionally, W&L closes the regular season with a 16-2 ODAC record, which breaks the program record for most conference wins in a season set in 2019-20. The Royals close their regular season at 6-18 overall and 2-16 in the ODAC.
With EMU holding a slight 6-5 lead early in the first quarter, the Generals proceeded to go on a 15-3 run spanning into the second quarter to take a 20-9 lead. The run also included a 9-0 spurt to end the run. After an EMU layup, sophomore guard
Hanna Malik (Raleigh, N.C./Athens Drive) kick-started a 13-2 W&L run with a three-pointer. Malik scored the first nine points of the 13-2 run, coming on a trio of three-pointers.
A layup from senior guard
Kate Groninger (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) opened the third quarter, but the Royals then scored eight straight points. The third quarter score was even at 12-12, as the Generals entered the fourth with a 49-28 lead.
EMU scored the first eight points of the fourth and outscored W&L, 13-3, over the first six and a half minutes of the frame to cut it to an 11-point game. The Generals held the Royals scoreless, however, for the final three and a half minutes to close out the game.
Malik scored a team-high 11 points and finished with three made three-point shots. Malik now just needs one more triple to tie Taylor Casey '20 (72) for the second-most three's in a season. Groninger scored nine points and senior guard
Jordan Diehl (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) finished with six points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
EMU first-year guard Mya Hamlet scored a game-high 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. Sophomore guard Claiborne Poston tallied nine points and senior forward Constance Komara tallied eight points and five rebounds.
W&L shot 33.9 percent (21-62) overall in the game to EMU's 31.6 percent (18-57). The Generals outscored the Royals by nine points from three-point land and six points at the foul line, while also holding a 49-34 rebounding advantage.
The Generals have clinched the No. 1 seed in next week's ODAC Tournament, and they will next play in the quarterfinals on Friday at the Salem Civic Center. The time of the game and the opponent are yet to be determined.
