FOREST, Va. – The Old Dominion Athletic Conference announced its 2024 Women's Basketball all-conference teams and award winners and Washington and Lee's
Hanna Malik and
Mary Schleusner combined to take home three major awards.
Senior
Hanna Malik was recognized as the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar Athlete of the Year, and she also earned one of six First Team All-ODAC spots. Schleusner repeated as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, and she added the Player of the Year award to her resume and joined Malik on the all-conference first team.
Malik is the first player for the program to be named the ODAC's Scholar Athlete of the Year since Emily Perszyk '18 claimed the distinction in 2018. Now a three-time All-ODAC performer and two-time first teamer, Malik has been one of the top shooters in the conference this season as she leads in both total three-point field goals (71) and threes made per game (2.8). Malik also adds the fifth-best scoring average (14.1) in the ODAC this year.
Schleusner has followed up a strong rookie campaign with an even better sophomore season. She leads the ODAC in scoring (22.4), rebounding (15.0) and block (3.1) averages, and ranks 11th, second and ninth, respectively, in Division III. Schleusner has 20 double-doubles this season, tied for second in the country, with 19 performances of at least 20 points and five 20-rebound efforts. In addition to her block numbers on the defensive end of the floor, Schleusner ranks sixth in the ODAC in steals per game (2.0) and she leads Division III in defensive rebounds per game (10.2).
Schleusner is the ODAC's first back-to-back defensive player of the year since the award's inception in 2019, and the first player in conference history to earn both the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards. In total, Schleusner joins Jessica Mentz '02 (2022) and Megan Horn '22 (2022) as the only W&L players to earn the ODAC's Player of the Year honor in women's basketball.
The Generals, ranked 11th in the most recent WBCA Top 25, earned the ODAC Tournament's top seed after a 23-2 overall regular season and 17-1 mark in conference play. They will take on eighth-seeded Randolph in the ODAC Quarterfinals on Friday at 1:00 p.m. at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va.
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.
