ARLINGTON, Va. – Sophomore
Mary Schleusner sank the game-winning bucket with 13 seconds remaining to give the Washington and Lee women's basketball team a 56-55 win over Marymount in the season opener on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals held a five-point advantage through three quarters of play, but the Saints (0-1) went on to hold the Blue and White to just 1-of-10 from the floor across more than nine minutes in the final frame. During those nine minutes, five different Marymount players scored two points each to give the team a 55-52 lead with 2:39 left.
W&L then held strong defensively by not allowing another point for the remainder of the game. With 51 seconds remaining, sophomore
Icy Keneah drove through the defense and hit a layup to cut the deficit to one. On the other end, Chandler Eddleton missed a layup, Schleusner grabbed the rebound and kicked it to senior
Hanna Malik, who gave it right back to Schleusner for the go-ahead lay-in.
On the final chance of the game, Schleusner stole the ball from Terra Dzambo to seal the win.
The Generals' (1-0) offense was hot out of the gate, outscoring the Saints (0-1), 22-14, in the first quarter, which included a 10-0 run in just 46 seconds midway through the period. That run was powered by a pair of triples knocked down by sophomore
Elka Prechel. The Saints responded by opening the second quarter on a 12-4 run, before W&L scored seven of the final nine points to head into halftime ahead, 33-32.
In the third, the Saints tried to pull away from the Generals, outscoring them by a 13-7 mark across the first seven minutes. However, W&L countered with their second 10-0 of the game, including another three from Prechel, to close out the period with a 50-45 advantage.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner highlighted W&L's individual efforts on Saturday with a 23-point, 14-rebound double-double, while shooting 10-of-20 from the field. Ten of Scheusner's 14 boards came on the defensive glass, and she also swatted three shots and came away with two steals. Prechel finished with nine points, shooting 3-of-4 from long range, and junior
Lauren Achter grabbed an additional 10 rebounds.
The Saints were led by a 16-point outing from Eddleton, who made 5-of-17 shots, and a 10-point (4-20 FG) game from Symantha Shackelford. Claire Smith pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds and Shackelford added 10 boards for a double-double.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
With her three blocks, Schleusner moved past Tonia Dean '98 for the fifth most blocks in program history (93). Schleusner can tie Kari Ann Pfannenstein '12 for fourth place with three more.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals finished the game shooting 37.3 percent (22-59) from the floor and held the Saints to 29.3 percent (22-75), which included a miniscule 7.7 percent (1-13) from long range. Marymount only turned the ball over eight times and forced the Generals into 22, while holding advantages in second-chance points (14-2) and points off turnovers (22-7). The Blue and White owned the final margin in points in the paint at 32-26.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Averett for a 5:00 p.m., early-season ODAC test.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
