SALEM, Va. – Sophomore
Mary Schleusner finished the day with 24 points and 25 rebounds, and she joined the Washington and Lee women's basketball 1,000-point club, as the 11th-ranked Generals ousted Bridgewater from the ODAC Tournament, 66-54, in Saturday's semifinal.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Eagles (18-8) had the upper hand early, as a slow offensive start for W&L (25-2) left BC up, 4-2, through three and a half minutes of play. W&L got things going shortly thereafter with a 15-4 run that saw the Blue and White make all five of their shot attempts. Schleusner led the run with seven points, which put her at exactly 1,000 career points with 3:09 left in the period.
Bridgewater ended the first on a 9-2 run, but the Generals began to separate themselves with a 12-4 run until 4:23 remained before the half. Now leading 31-21, W&L continued to pull away with a 23-8 run that spanned until 4:50 was left on the clock in the third quarter. Schleusner led all scorers in that stretch with nine points, followed by sophomore
Quinn McGuinness with seven points.
The 25-point lead that the Generals had established was the largest of the game, but Bridgewater kept fighting and used a 12-2 run into the fourth quarter to cut the game back to 15 points. Both sides then went cold shooting the ball, combining for 6-of-20 from the field. The Eagles scored the final six points of the game while keeping W&L off the board, but it was not enough in the end.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner shot 10-of-20 on the night, and she pulled down nine offensive rebounds. Her 25 total rebounds tied both her career high and the program record, and it was just one away from tying the ODAC Tournament single-game record. It also marked her fourth 20-point, 20-rebound game of the season and fifth of her career.
Sophomore
Elka Prechel sank four three-point field goals to finish with 12 points, while McGuinness and sophomore
Sarah Zimmerman combined for 16 points. McGuinness made her presence felt on both ends of the floor, as she assisted on a team-best four shots and had four steals.
Abby Freeman led the Bridgewater offensive efforts with 17 points and five rebounds, followed by Jaden Alsberry at 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Alsberry, who has the ODAC Tournament record 26 rebounds in a game, was held to six boards just one day after setting the record.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
The Generals will appear in their second consecutive ODAC championship game on Sunday and fourth overall in program history. W&L is 2-1 all-time in ODAC title games, winning in 2010 and 2023.
Schleusner not only crossed the 1,000-point mark for her career (16th player in program history), she surpassed 400 rebounds this season, a program first. For her career, her 25 rebounds on Saturday propelled Schleusner seven rebounds past Tonia Dean '98 (755) for the sixth-most rebounds in program history. Next on the list is Katy Wilson '13 at 815. Schleusner also vaulted past Wilson on the all-time scoring list (1,013) and can move ahead of
Erin Hughes '21 with 11 more points.
W&L gathered its 25th win of the season, extending the program record. Only three teams in all of Division III (Webster, Transylvania, R.I. College) have more (26). The victory also gave the Generals their 10th straight win, tied for second longest in program history and one away from tying the record.
TEAM STATS:
W&L ended the game at 36.5 percent (23-63) shooting, but held Bridgewater to 35.4 percent (23-65) overall. The Generals connected on eight triples and 12 free throws, compared to two threes and six free throws from the Eagles, to go along with other positive margins in points off turnovers (13-11), second-chance points (11-3) and fastbreak points (10-6).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will play for the 2024 ODAC championship on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. against second-seeded Shenandoah, who defeated Roanoke, 65-49, in Saturday's second semifinal game. It will mark a rematch of the 2023 and 2019 ODAC championship games.
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.
