LEXINGTON, Va. – Sophomore
Elka Prechel broke the Washington and Lee women's basketball program record with nine made three-point shots en route to leading the 11th-ranked Generals to a 109-54 win over Averett on Wednesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (20-2, 14-1 ODAC) started the game sluggish, as they held a slim 19-17 lead through one quarter of play. After Averett (4-18, 2-13 ODAC) tied the game at 19 on two free throws to start the second quarter, Prechel and the Generals got hot with a 20-2 run to take an 18-point lead. Prechel began the run with a three, and she made an additional long-range shot during the run to lead the team with eight points.
The Generals extended their lead to 22 points (52-30) at the half after Prechel's third triple and two free throws from sophomore
Icy Keneah. In the third, Prechel went a perfect 4-for-4 from deep, as the W&L lead swelled to 80-40 with 10 minutes left. The Generals outscored the Cougars, 63-23, across the middle two frames.
W&L finished the night strong, outscoring their counterparts, 27-14, in the fourth quarter. Looking for history, Prechel tied the three-point record with 7:09 remaining on her eighth make from beyond the arc, before breaking the tie with Taylor Casey '20 with 1:19 left, in what was the team's final bucket of the game.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Prechel finished the night with a career-high 29 points, and her nine made three-point field goals came on 18 attempts. She also posted a career-high 10 total made field goals, plus three steals on the defensive end. Sophomore
Mary Schleusner concluded with 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals.
Senior
Hanna Malik rounded out a three-player group in double figures, as she tallied 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting overall and 3-of-7 from deep. Sophomore
Sarah Zimmerman got her first start of the season and turned in five points and nine rebounds, in addition to a career-high five blocked shots.
Natija Pate and Skylar Jones led the Averett offense with 10 points each on a combined 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Jenkens Ervin was the team's leading rebounder at seven and Rayanna Evans dished out a team-best three assists.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Prechel not only broke the program's single-game three-point field goal record, her eighth make made her just the second player in program history to reach that number, joining Casey who accomplished the feat twice. Prechel's nine threes also helped her move into eighth place in program history in career made threes (127). She can jump Megan Horn '22 with six more.
The Generals' 109 points tied for the second-most scored in a game in program history, and it was just two points away from tying the record set on December 1, 2008, against Hollins. The last time the program reached 109 wins came in a 109-67 win over Virginia Wesleyan on March 6, 2021.
With their win, the Generals improve to 20-2 overall to post their third consecutive 20-win season. Twenty wins this season ties the 2020-21 team for the second-most wins in a season in program history. The record of 22 was set last year.
Malik closed the gap to moving up an additional spot on the program's all-time threes leaderboard to three. She will go into the team's next game at 228, with Taylor Casey '20 in second place at 231.
TEAM STATS:
Prechel's record-shooting night helped the Generals break the team record for made threes in a game with 17, surpassing the previous mark of 15 reached twice, and most recently on February 11 of last season. The Generals finished the game shooting 54.2 percent (39-72) overall and 44.7 percent (17-38) from long range, while limiting the Cougars to 29.3 percent (22-75) overall and 16.7 percent (2-12) from deep.
W&L also held favorable margins in points off turnovers (28-14), points in the paint (40-26) and fastbreak points (26-6).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will play in their final home game of the regular season on Saturday, as they host Randolph-Macon at 4:30 p.m. Prior to tip-off, the team will honor its five-member senior class.
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.
