LYNCHBURG, Va. – The 11th-ranked Washington and Lee women's basketball team held on for a 74-65 win at Randolph on Wednesday to tie the program record for wins in a season, as well as clinch the top seed for the upcoming ODAC Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (22-2, 16-1 ODAC) opened the game as good as they could have imagined, going 7-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from deep across the first seven minutes to grab a 19-2 lead. Senior
Hanna Malik led the way early with six points, while the W&L defense held Randolph (14-10, 8-10 ODAC) scoreless until the 4:21 mark.
The WildCats recovered by finishing the first period on a 7-1 run, before both teams tallied 21 points in the second for a 41-30 W&L halftime lead. The Generals made 8-of-13 shots in the second, but were turned over five times, as Randolph also hit eight field goals in the frame.
After a Kylie Stark free throw opened the third-quarter scoring, the Generals scored the next 11 points to claim a 52-31 lead, behind six more points from Malik. Taniyah Jackson then answered with a triple of her own, sparking a 9-1 run to get it back to a 13-point game, which held through three quarters.
Randolph continued to chip away at its deficit, as W&L's longest scoring run in the final frame was just five points. The WildCats managed to close to as few as seven points after a Jessica Jennings layup with 1:11 left, but the team was held without a field goal from that point on.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Malik tallied a game-high 24 points which came on a career-high eight made three-point shots. She attempted 14 field goals in the game, all from outside, and she added three rebounds, three assists and a steal. Sophomore
Mary Schleusner posted 20 points (8-15 FG) and 11 rebounds for her 19th double-double of the season. Schleusner added four blocks and three steals on the defensive end.
Sophomore
Quinn McGuinness finished with eight points, but she dished out a career-high six assists, while classmate
Sarah Zimmerman chipped in seven points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
The WildCats were led by the hot shooting of Cameron O'Neil, who made 6-of-9 three-point shots to score a team-high 18 points. Stark added 11 points and Natalie Clark scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
With their win, the Generals not only tied the program record for wins in a season (22), but they also tied the school record for ODAC wins in a season (16). Heading into their regular season finale on Saturday with a 22-2 record, the Generals have also secured the highest winning percentage in a season in program history. W&L can finish with a winning percentage no worse than 0.815 this season, with the current record sitting at 0.759.
Malik's eight three-point field goals set a new career high and tied for the second most in a game in program history. Malik became just the third player in program history to make at least eight in a game (
Elka Prechel '26, Taylor Casey '20). Additionally, Malik vaulted past Casey (231) for second place on the program's all-time three pointers made list. Malik would need 22 more to break Meg Ingram's '12 all-time record.
Schleusner's 11 rebounds helped her break her own program record for rebounds in a season (344), as she now has 354 in 24 games. Schleusner also moved past Jordan Diehl '22 (693) for eighth place in career rebounds, and she needs 58 more to move up another spot.
TEAM STATS:
W&L finished the game shooting 41.7 percent (25-60) from the field, which included 42.3 percent (11-26) from long range. Randolph posted 34.8 percent (24-69) shooting, but made 47.1 percent (8-17) of its threes.
The Generals held a 45-38 rebounding advantage, as well as a 14-11 margin in second-chance points. The WildCats ended the game with positive totals in points off turnovers (14-10), bench points (25-10) and fastbreak points (11-9).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will close out their 2023-24 regular season on Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. opening tip-off at Roanoke.
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.
