LEXINGTON, Va. – Four Generals broke into double-digit scoring on Sunday, as the No. 6/8 Washington and Lee women's basketball team defeated Marymount by a 70-44 score in the team's return to action out of the Thanksgiving holiday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (5-0) had it going early as they commanded a 15-6 lead through six and a half minutes of play, making 7-of-13 shots to only 3-of-10 from the Saints (2-6). Sophomore
Zou Raine had the hot hand out of the gates for the Blue and White with six points in that stretch. Marymount began to make its way back into the game, however, with a 13-4 run that spanned into the second quarter to tie the game at 19 all with 5:45 left.
Both sides had trouble scoring in the second quarter, overall, as they went a combined 5-of-29 from the field across the first eight minutes to see the Generals remain in front by a slim 23-22 margin. Senior
Lauren Achter then connected on a jumper at 1:46, followed by a layup from senior
Cat Pettegrove at 0:44, to spur a 28-9 W&L run through the end of the third. W&L got scoring contributions from eight players in that time, with a high of six from Achter, as the team made 11-of-20 shots to begin to run away with the game.
The Saints started the final frame by making 3-of-6 shots for an 8-2 run, but W&L still led by 14 points and proceeded to finish things off on a 17-5 spurt over the final seven minutes. The Generals were led in the fourth by six points from junior
Elka Prechel, both on made triples, as the team sank six of its last nine field goal attempts.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Junior
Mary Schleusner scored a W&L-high 14 points and pulled in 15 rebounds, while Prechel and Raine each notched 12 points in the win. Prechel went 4-for-9 from long range, while Raine led the defensive efforts with two blocks and three steals. Pettegrove finished with 10 points (5-7 FG) and three rebounds, and junior
Quinn McGuinness tallied six points and a team-high six assists.
The Saints got a team-best 10 points and eight rebounds from Kelly Ceroll, followed by eight points from Kaylah Barr and six each from Ava Achtyl and Cara Vollmer.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
The Generals are off to the first 5-0 start to a season in program history after Sunday's win. It was also W&L's seventh-straight home win, which is tied for the fifth longest in program history.
Schleusner moved within striking distance of moving up another spot on both the career scoring and rebounding lists for the program. She needs 13 more points to pass Louisa Feve '06 (1,305) for eight place on the program's all-time points list and four more rebounds to jump Jessica Mentz '02 (973) for the second-most total rebounds in program history.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals shot 40.3 percent (29-72) from the field, but 48 percent (24-50) outside of their 10-point second quarter. They also limited the Saints to 27.9 percent (17-61) shooting overall, 13.3 percent (2-15) from beyond the arc and 11.1 percent (2-18) field goals in the third quarter.
W&L made the most of its takeaways in the game with an 18-3 margin in points off turnovers, plus additional scoring advantages in bench points (24-13), points in the paint (42-22), fastbreak points (10-0) and second-chance points (11-10).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will see their second ODAC opponent of the season in their next game when they travel to Bridgewater on Wednesday night for a 7:00 p.m. start.
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.
