SALEM, Va. – The top-seeded Washington and Lee women's basketball team saw it ODAC Tournament run come to an end on Saturday evening in a 67-59 defeat to fourth-seeded Shenandoah.
 
Trailing by a 30-19 score heading into the third quarter, junior forward Kathryn Vandiver (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin School) ignited a 13-3 W&L (20-6) run with a jumper. Senior guards Megan Horn (Basking Ridge, N.J./The Pingry School) and Kate Groninger (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) led the run with four points each, as W&L now trailed by just one point. After a Shenandoah (21-5) layup, the Generals concluded their overall 18-5 run to open the quarter with five more points to grab a 37-35 advantage with 3:17 remaining in the period.
 
The Hornets responded by closing the period on a 9-4 run to regain a three-point edge heading into the fourth, before they scored the first 10 points of the final period to extend their lead to 54-41 at the 7:11 mark. Groninger then scored 5-of-7 points during a 7-0 W&L spurt to pull the Generals back within six points with four minutes to play, but Shenandoah fought off W&L, 13-11, for the remainder of the game to yield the final total.
 
The opening quarter was an evenly matched affair, as the longest scoring run by either side favored the Hornets, 5-0, late in the period. A pair of Shenandoah free throws ended the first, followed by six straight points to open the second as the Hornets took a 21-14 lead at the 6:35 mark. Shenandoah then gradually continued to extend its lead to 11 points by halftime, helped by scoring the final four points of the period over the last 90 seconds.
 
Senior guard Jordan Diehl (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) paced the W&L offense with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Horn tallied 11 points, four boards, three assists and two steals. Groninger scored 10 points of 3-of-5 shooting from the floor and Vandiver chipped in 10 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and three steals.
 
Hornets' senior forward Olivia Weinel scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting overall, including 8-of-8 from the foul line. Senior guard Sierra St. Cyr totaled 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting, plus 7-of-7 from the free throw line. St. Cyr also added nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sophomore guard Madisen Kimble finished with nine points and seven rebounds for Shenandoah.
 
The Hornets concluded the game shooting 37.3 percent (19-51) overall to 34.5 percent (20-58) for the Generals. In addition, Shenandoah held a 4-2 advantage in made three-point shots, a 25-17 edge in made free throws and outrebounded W&L by a 44-32 margin. The Generals outscored the Hornets, 30-20, in the paint and 16-14 in bench points.
 
The Generals will now wait to see if they receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Division III Women's Basketball Selection Show is scheduled for Monday at 2:30 pm at www.ncaa.com.