ATLANTA – The No. 7/8 Washington and Lee women's basketball team put up 57 points on 50 percent shooting in the second half to claim a 79-60 win over Oglethorpe on the second day of the Emory Tip-Off on Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (3-0) led by a 22-21 lead at the half, but the Stormy Petrels (2-2) gradually worked to flip the game into their favor, 33-30, half way through the third. W&L junior
Icy Keneah then hit three free throws, followed by a
Quinn McGuinness layup, to jumpstart the Generals' offense. Over the final 4:18 of the third, W&L shot 7-of-9 from the field and outscored Oglethorpe, 19-7, to take a 49-40 lead into the fourth. Sophomore
Zou Raine led the scoring efforts in that time with six points.
While neither team managed a lengthy scoring run in the final frame, the Generals remained hot from the floor, as they made 11-of-20 shots in the period to outscore Oglethorpe 30-20 in the fourth to yield the final total. Sophomore
Brianna Shuttlewood scored a team-high nine in the quarter, followed by eight from junior
Elka Prechel, as the Blue and White connected on 7-of-8 three-point shots after the 8:20 mark to fend off the Stormy Petrels.
The Generals opened the game making 3-of-5 shots, each a made jumper from junior
Mary Schleusner, to gain an early 8-2 lead. W&L cooled off after that, but stayed sharp defensively to hold Oglethorpe to 4-of-19 shooting in the first. Both sides' shooting struggles continued in the second quarter, as the Stormy Petrels outscored W&L, 10-8, in the frame for the 22-21 halftime score.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner scored a W&L-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and she added nine rebounds and three blocks. Raine ended the game with 13 points, followed by 11 from Prechel and nine from Shuttlewood. Senior
Cat Pettegrove dominated on the boards for the Generals, as she grabbed 14 total rebounds and 10 on the offensive glass. McGuinness scored six points and dished out a team-best seven assists.
Montana Harris led the Stormy Petrels with 15 points, nine rebounds and three steals, with Keimarya Rivera coming in next with 14 points and eight boards. Anna Conza and Briley Elder both scored eight points to round out the top scorers.
TEAM STATS:
W&L shot an overall field goal percentage of 0.346 (28-81) for the game but shot the lights out in the fourth on 11-of-20 (.550) from the field and 7-of-10 from long range. The Generals held a decisive advantage in the offensive rebounding department, 25-11, which led to a 20-4 margin in second-chance points.
While turnovers were nearly split (16 for Oglethorpe, 15 for W&L), the Generals held an 18-10 advantage in points off turnovers, plus a 21-11 edge in points off the bench and 38-34 in points in the paint.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will have their first ODAC test in their next game when they travel to the University of Lynchburg on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.
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.
