SALEM, Va. – Junior
Mary Schleusner recorded her second career 30-point, 30-rebound game on Saturday, and the first across all levels of NCAA basketball this season, to lead the No. 16 Washington and Lee women's basketball team to a 77-50 win on the road at Roanoke.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
An evenly matched first quarter ended with the Generals (14-2, 6-1 ODAC) scoring the final five points, all from Schleusner, to put them ahead, 21-15, heading into the second quarter. W&L then extended its lead to 31-19 by the 4:44 mark, thanks to four points each from juniors
Quinn McGuinness and
Sarah Zimmerman, before the Maroons (6-10, 2-5 ODAC) got the game back to a seven-point contest with a 10-5 run.
With time winding down in the first half, Schleusner got a tip-in to fall right at the buzzer to give her side a 38-29 lead at the break. Schleusner led all scorers in the first half with 18 points, followed by seven from Zimmerman and seven from Roanoke's Paige Breuer.
The Maroons scored the first five points of the third quarter and held the Generals scoreless for the first three minutes of the period, before W&L ended the frame on a 19-4 run to inflate its lead to 57-38. Schleusner started an ended that run with jumpers and led the team with seven points in that span, with juniors
Elka Prechel and
Icy Keneah and sophomore
Brianna Shuttlewood combining for the other 12 points.
W&L kept its foot on the gas in the fourth, running the lead to a game-high 29 points (73-44) with a 16-6 run to secure the win. After Roanoke had cut its deficit to four points in the third, the overall W&L run from the 7:07 mark of the third until 3:36 in the fourth was 35-10.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner's second career 30-30 game is also just the second for the program after her record-setting 34-point, 33-rebound effort in last season's NCAA Round of 16. She made 12-of-27 field goal attempts on Saturday and added seven points at the free throw line. Her rebounds were split 15 offensive to 16 defensive.
W&L sophomore
Riley Bryant followed Schleusner in the scoring column with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, while McGuinness and Zimmerman both scored seven points. Prechel and first-year
Megan Zimmerman notched six points apiece, and senior
Lauren Achter tied McGuinness for the team lead with two steals.
Breuer led the Maroons with 11 points and six rebounds, followed by seven points and six boards by Ashley Fowler. Kiley Hylton joined Breuer and Fowler with six rebounds, to go along with six points, while Alicea Farmer paced all players with three steals.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Schleusner, the NCAA Division III leader in total career rebounds (1,187) ,notched the first 30-point, 30-rebound game of the season across all three levels of NCAA men's and women's basketball. It was her most rebounds in a game this season, passing her previous season high of 28 on December 15 at Pacific (Ore.). Entering Saturday's slate of games, no other player at any level of NCAA basketball this season had gone over 27 rebounds in a game.
TEAM STATS:
Both teams shot 34.5 percent from the field in the game, with W&L going 29-of-84 to 19-55 for the Maroons. The Generals dominated on the offensive glass, gaining possession of 33 offensive rebounds to just four for Roanoke, which led to a 23-2 advantage in second-chance points.
The Maroons turned the ball over 19 times, with 16 for the Generals, and W&L cashed in on their turnovers forced with a 27-13 positive scoring margin. Roanoke's bench outscored the Generals', 23-17, but W&L scored 40 points in the paint to 22.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will be on the road for their next game when they travel to Averett on Wednesday night for a 5:00 p.m. opening tip.
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.
