LEXINGTON, Va. – Sophomore
Mary Schleusner turned in a dominant 24-point, 20-rebound performance to help the 12th-ranked Washington and Lee women's basketball team withstand a strong second-half push from Roanoke, 79-71, for the Generals' eighth straight win.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After a strong first half had the Generals (12-1, 7-0 ODAC) ahead, 37-26, at the break, the Maroons (8-5, 3-3 ODAC) stormed back into the game with a 14-0 run to begin the third quarter and take a 40-37 lead. Both teams went back and forth after that in the third, with W&L recovering to cling to a four-point lead heading to the fourth. Sophomore
Mary Schleusner scored nine of her game-high 24 points in the third quarter to keep W&L afloat.
Similar to the start of the third, Roanoke scored the first eight points of the final period to grab a 58-54 lead at the 8:30 mark. W&L's offense found its stride, though, with a 16-4 run in response to move back out to a 70-62 lead with 4:13 left to play. The team got balanced scoring throughout the run, with a team-high five from senior
Hanna Malik, four from Schleusner and three from first-year
Brianna Shuttlewood.
The Maroons made the Generals sweat things out over the final four minutes of play, particularly until 1:28 remained, as they used a 9-3 run to reduce their deficit back to two points. W&L then held Roanoke scoreless the rest of the way, while scoring six points (1-1 FG, 4-5 FT) to ice the game into the win column.
W&L cruised in the first quarter, not allowing back-to-back scores until late in the frame, to bring a 20-12 lead into the second quarter. Schleusner led all scorers with six points in the opening frame, while sophomore
Quinn McGuinness chipped in four. The Generals outscored Roanoke, 17-14, in the second for their 37-26 halftime lead, shooting 8-of-15 in the quarter to just 6-of-17 from the Maroons.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner highlighted W&L's efforts on Wednesday with 24 points and 20 rebounds, her first 20-rebound effort of the season and the fourth of her career. Her rebounds were split via 12 on defense and eight on the offensive glass, and she blocked three shots and came away with five steals.
Malik came in next for the Generals at 14 points, plus four rebounds and three assists, while McGuinness tallied 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Rose Sande was the lone Maroon player to reach double figures, as she finished with 21 points and six rebounds. Madison Nereu added nine points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Kate Littlejohn and Jacquelyn DeJesse matched Nereu's nine points each.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Schleusner logged her fourth career 20-rebound game, and she now has four of the top six single-game rebounding performances in program history. Prior to her arrival in Lexington last season, there had only been two 20-rebound games by an individual for the program, both by Megan Babst '02. Schleusner's prolific rebounding (12.2 per game career) have her already just 56 total rebounds away from entering the program's career Top 10.
Sophomore
Elka Prechel made two more three-point shots against Roanoke, which moved her past Kate Groninger '22 for ninth-most made three-point field goals in program history. She needs 14 more to tie Allie Long '11 for eighth.
Malik's 14 points inched her closer to the 1,000-point plateau in her career. She now needs 71 more points to become the 15th member of the program's 1,000-point club.
Wednesday's win was the Generals' eighth consecutive win, which is the third-longest winning streak in program history. It is the longest winning streak since the 2021-22 team won nine straight from December 20 to January 31.
TEAM STATS:
W&L finished the game shooting 43.5 percent (30-69) from the floor, and they saved their best for last with an even 50 percent (7-14) in the fourth quarter. The Maroons shot 43.3 percent (29-67) overall, which was helped by a mark of 58.8 percent (10-17) in the third quarter. Roanoke edged W&L in three pointers made (8-7), but the Generals held the advantage at the free throw line, going 12-of-20 to 5-of-8.
The Blue and White also held advantages in rebounds (47-32), second-chance points (20-7), fastbreak points (26-2), bench points (21-17) and points in the paint (44-34).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to the court on Sunday for a 2:00 p.m. ODAC tip-off against Guilford.
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.
