ATLANTA – The No. 7/8 Washington and Lee women's basketball team outscored Emory by nine points in the fourth to flip a narrow deficit into an 84-79 win on Saturday afternoon to kick-off the Emory Tip-Off Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Trailing by four points entering the fourth, the Generals (2-0) saw their deficit grow to seven points over the first few possessions of the frame. Junior
Mary Schleusner then connected on two free throws to kickstart an 11-3 run which got W&L back in front. The 11-3 run was part of an overall 21-6 stretch from 8:30 to 0:47 in the game. Schleusner had a team-high of 10 points during the run, which extended the Generals' lead to 81-73.
The Eagles (1-1) were able to get back within two points with 21 seconds left after Morgan Laudick and Alexandra Loucopoulos scored three points each in a span of just 10 seconds. W&L held strong, though, and three
Zou Raine free throws over the final 13 seconds iced the game into the win column.
The first quarter was very evenly matched, as the first 10 minutes of play saw six lead changes and no lead larger than three points for either side. With the game tied, 20-20, entering the second, W&L went on the first run of the game (13-8) to grab a five-point lead with just under five minutes to play. The Eagles responded with an 11-3 run of their own, however, on 5-of-6 shooting to close the half and take a three-point lead into the break.
In the third, the Eagles outscored the Blue and White, 12-6, over the first four minutes to run their lead to nine. Former General
Hanna Malik '24 sank two threes during the run, and later connected on another triple to help Emory pad its lead to 10 points with 3:19 left in the third. W&L junior
Elka Prechel answered with her first three of the game, as W&L ended the quarter on a 12-6 spurt to get the game back to four points going into the fourth.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner finished the game with 32 points (11-26 FG) and 21 rebounds, while making 10-of-11 shots from the free throw line. Raine contributed 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting overall plus four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. Prechel, junior
Icy Keneah and sophomore
Riley Bryant combined for 25 points, while each scoring at least eight points, to provide balance to the W&L offense. Bryant also added a team-high three steals on defense.
Loucopoulos scored an Emory-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Daniella Aronsky tallied 15 points and 11 assists. In a rematch against her former side, Malik scored 15 points, made four three-point shots and grabbed four boards. Laudick and Katherine Martini were the high rebounders for the Eagles with nine apiece.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Schleusner's big day propelled her up both the career scoring and rebounding lists for the Generals. She broke into the Top 10 on the program's scoring list, passing Malik (1,209) for 10th. Schleusner has scored 1,238 points in her career and can pass Megan Babst '02 for ninth with 28 more points. Schleusner passed Babst (925) for third on the career rebounding list and would move up second place after another 44 boards.
While she did move up the career blocks list, her lone swat on Saturday went as Schleusner's 200th career block. Only Jessica Hunsinger has more career blocks for the program with 267.
TEAM STATS:
W&L ended the game with a 0.431 field goal percentage (31-72) and held the Eagles to 38.2 percent (29-76) shooting overall and 33.3 percent (9-27) from deep. Emory outpaced the Blue and White in points off turnovers (17-8) and second-chance points (23-8), with the Generals holding advantages of 44-34 in the paint and 10-8 on fastbreaks.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will be back in action at the Emory Tip-Off on Sunday, when they face off against Oglethorpe at 1:00 p.m.
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.
