LEXINGTON, Ky. – Junior
Mary Schleusner broke the Washington and Lee women's basketball career rebounds record on Sunday night, but her efforts were not enough against Concordia (Minn.) in a 73-62 loss to open the Transylvania Gratz Park Private Wealth Holiday Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (7-2) started off on the right foot with a 6-2 lead through three minutes of play. However, the Cobbers then found their rhythm and kept W&L at bay by outscoring the Blue and White 17-5 over the next three minutes to take a 19-11 lead into the second quarter.
Each team scored nine points through the first three minutes of the second, before Concordia boosted its lead to 41-24 with a 13-4 run, in which the Cobbers held the Generals to 2-of-8 shooting. W&L senior
Lauren Achter then sank a jumper to help her side score the final six points of the half for a 41-30 Concordia advantage.
Both teams struggled from the field in the third, but the Generals managed just 4-of-17 field goal shooting in the period as their deficit swelled to 17 points by the end of the frame. The fourth quarter saw the Generals improve to 10-of-21 from the field and outscore the Cobbers 22-16 in the frame, but the 17-point deficit to begin the quarter proved insurmountable for the Generals.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Junior
Mary Schleusner turned in her third 20-point, 20-rebound game of the season and the 12th of her career with 22 points and 23 boards on the night. She made 11-of-24 shots overall, dished out two assists and blocked five shots. Junior
Sarah Zimmerman followed with 10 points, six rebounds and a team-high three steals, while junior
Quinn McGuinness racked up six assists.
The Cobbers were led by Carlee Sieben, who scored a game-high 25 points and made 4-of-6 three-point shots and 7-of-9 free throws. Makayla Anderson recorded 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds, Jordan Kahler led the team with three steals, with Kahler and Taylor Safranski pacing the offense with three assists apiece.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Schleusner's 23-rebound effort vaulted her to the W&L program record for total career rebounds. She entered the game with 1,032 and passed Jessica Hunsinger '07 at 1,046. Now with 1,055 rebounds in her career, Schleusner ranks 10th across all NCAA divisions of women's basketball in career rebounds. She is also currently the all-divisions leader with a career rebounding average of 15.1 through 70 games.
Schleusner also moved up one spot on the program's all-time scoring list with her 22 points on Sunday. She jumped Emily Perszyk '18 (1,372) for fifth place, and needs 50 more points to surpass Becca Bolton '12 for fourth place.
TEAM STATS:
While the Generals (.354) and Cobbers (.362) shot nearly the same on their field goal attempts in the game, Concordia held decisive advantages in three-point and free throw shooting. The Cobbers made 10 threes (17 attempts) and 13 foul shots (20 attempts), to just four triples and two free throws from the Generals.
W&L held an overall rebounding advantage of 53-43 in the game, as well as a 24-14 margin in offensive rebounds. That led to a 23-11 W&L edge in second-chance points, plus a 38-28 lead in points in the paint. The Cobbers outscored W&L, 16-5, off turnovers.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will meet tournament hosts Transylvania on Monday at 1:00 p.m. in the consolation game.
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.
