LEXINGTON, Va. – The ninth-ranked Washington and Lee women's basketball team saw its program-record 11-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday night in a heart-pounding 65-64 loss to Shenandoah.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The fourth quarter saw 10 total lead changes and not a single lead by more than three points, as both teams battled it out in Holekamp Gym. The Generals (15-2, 9-1 ODAC) entered the fourth trailing by three points and, despite the back-and-forth, managed to pull ahead by three points with 5:02 left after a layup from junior
Lauren Achter and a free throw from sophomore
Sarah Zimmerman.
The Hornets (13-3, 8-1 ODAC) pulled back ahead by two points with 2:12 left after an 8-3 run, followed by two free throws each from Achter (61-61, 1:55) and SU's Terese Greene (63-61, 0:30). On the ensuing Generals possession, sophomore
Quinn McGuinness drove towards the wing, but drew two defenders with her, thus leaving Achter wide open from the top of the key. McGuinness found Achter beyond the arc, and Achter swished a go-ahead jumper with 23.6 seconds left.
Shenandoah used a timeout to advance the ball up court, where Greene drove the lane and found Shawnise Campbell under the rim for the final go-ahead score with 18.7 ticks to go. W&L also used a timeout to advance the ball, but missed the winning three-point shot, as the Hornets grabbed the rebound to ensure no second-chance opportunity.
W&L trailed by a 32-23 count at the half, which increased to a 14-point deficit across the first two minutes of the third quarter. Senior
Hanna Malik then sank two free throws to start a 10-0 Generals run across the next 4:24, which got W&L back within four points. Kayla Maxson ended the run with two free throws, but the Generals kept up the pressure by scoring eight of the final 13 points in the period to trail by three entering the final 10 minutes.
The Hornets opened the game on an 8-2 run across 3:14 of play. A triple from Malik gave the Generals an initial spark, but Shenandoah remained out in front by six points (19-13) heading to the second. W&L scored the first four points of the second quarter to cut their deficit to as little as two points in the frame, but the Hornets didn't flinch and outscored the Blue and White, 13-6, for the rest of the period to take a nine-point halftime lead.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Sophomore
Mary Schleusner ended the game with 32 points and 15 rebounds, with 10 of her points coming in the fourth quarter. Achter tallied all nine of her points for the game in the fourth quarter, and she added eight boards and three steals. First-year
Brianna Shuttlewood logged 31 minutes off the bench, and she dished out a season-high six assists.
Maddie Kimble led the Shenandoah offensive efforts with 20 points, which included going 6-of-7 at the free throw line. Greene notched 13 points and went 6-for-6 at the foul line. Emily Williams led the team with nine rebounds, plus five assists, followed by eight boards from Campbell.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Schleusner's 15-rebound performance vaulted her into the program's career Top 10 for total rebounds. She now has 588 in 46 career games, which surpassed Kristen Krouchick's '08 career total of 576 for 10th place. Felice Herman '11 is next on the list at 641.
Malik will enter the team's next contest needing seven points to get to 1,000 for her career. In doing so, Malik would be the 13th player in program history to reach that threshold.
The Generals' loss on Wednesday marks their first since November 25 of this season. The team is now 9-1 in conference play, tied with last season's team for the second-best record in program history through 10 conference games (11-0, 2021-22). Overall, the Generals' 15-2 record this season remains a program-best start by a wide margin (10-2, 2014-15).
TEAM STATS:
Despite shooting 61.5 percent in the fourth quarter, the Generals ended the game at 30.2 percent (19-63) overall, compared to Shenandoah's 37.1 percent (23-62), which was aided by a mark of 58.3 percent (7-12) in the fourth. The Generals outscored the Hornets by eight points at the free throw line, going 22-of-33 to 14-of-20 for the visitors.
The Blue and White outgained the Hornets in second-chance points (15-10) and bench points (17-11), while Shenandoah held the positive margins in points in the paint (34-28) and fastbreak points (10-6). Both teams were evenly matched in rebounds (44-44) and points off turnovers (15-15).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will look to get back to their winning ways on Saturday when they travel to Randolph-Macon for a 2:00 p.m. tip against the Yellow Jackets.
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.
