LEXINGTON, Va. – In a rematch of last season's ODAC championship game and their only conference loss of the season, the No. 16 Washington and Lee women's basketball team fought past Shenandoah, 62-59, on Wednesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
With the Generals (13-2, 5-1 ODAC) leading by two points heading into the fourth, free throw shooting filled the first three minutes, four for the Hornets (9-5, 5-2 ODAC) and two for W&L, to tie the game. Junior
Elka Prechel then connected on a three for W&L, followed by a triple from junior
Sarah Zimmerman a minute later to give the Generals a six-point lead with 5:55 left in the game.
The Hornets answered by scoring the next eight points to bounce back ahead by two with 2:17 to go, but W&L proceeded to tie the game on the ensuing possession on a floater from junior
Mary Schleusner, followed by another three from Prechel with 1:24 left. Prechel and Zimmerman both went 1-of-2 on free throws down the stretch, but the W&L defense held strong, too, to put the game away.
The Hornets firmly controlled the first quarter as they jumped out to a 17-6 lead through nine minutes of play, helped by a 10-0 run from 8:27 to 4:17. Shenandoah opened the game 7-of-16 shooting while holding W&L to just 2-for-15. Terese Greene led the Hornets with eight points in the first quarter, all during the 10-0 run, plus seven points from Maddie Kimble.
A layup from W&L junior
Quinn McGuinness capped the first-quarter scoring, and it provided a spark to the Generals' offense as they climbed back to just a two-point deficit by halftime. The Blue and White ended the second quarter on a 16-4 run, making 6-of-8 shots in that stretch, with Schleusner (9 pts) and sophomore
Brianna Shuttlewood (6 pts) leading the charge.
Shenandoah went on another run in the third, a 13-5 count, that pushed them ahead 43-33 at the 3:51 mark, before back-to-back threes from Schleusner ignited the W&L offense. Schleusner's makes from beyond the arc spurred a 14-2 W&L run to end the quarter, which flipped the game back in their favor by two points.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner led all players with 25 points, and she added 24 rebounds to her line, as well. McGuinness was the only other W&L player to finish in double figures, as she scored 10 points and pulled down three rebounds. Prechel and Zimmerman both finished at seven points, and they combined for four assists.
Greene paced the Hornets with 23 points, nine rebounds, two assists and four steals, with Kimble providing 13 points, five rebounds, a block and two steals. Jessica Littlejohn, Emily Williams and Shawnise Campbell combined for 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Schleusner's 25-point moved her into third place on the program's all-time scoring list, surpassing Jessica Hunsinger '07 who scored 1,455 points. Now at 1,466 points, Schleusner trails Meg Ingram '12 for second place by 90 points.
TEAM STATS:
The Hornets made 23-of-62 shots (.371) to 22-of-70 (.314) to the Generals, but W&L held the final scoring advantage in threes (8-4) and free throws made (10-9). The Generals also led in rebounds (49-42) and offensive rebounds (13-6), plus second-chance points (15-3) and bench points (17-8).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will hit the road for their next game, making the quick trip down I-81 on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. opening tip-off against 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.
