ROANOKE, Va. – The No. 16 Washington and Lee women's basketball team won its fourth straight game and improved to 3-1 in ODAC play on Wednesday evening with a 71-57 win at Hollins.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Hollins (8-4, 2-3 ODAC) fought valiantly across the first eight minutes of play, as they claimed a 19-14 lead over the Blue and White (11-2) by shooting 7-of-13 in the early going. The Generals then started to find their footing by outscoring the hosts 18-11 over the next eight minutes of play to flip ahead, 32-30, with three and a half minutes left in the half. Juniors
Mary Schleusner and
Sarah Zimmerman combined for 11 points for W&L in that time, while the defense held Hollins to 3-of-15 shooting.
A
Megan Zimmerman jumper and a
Brianna Shuttlewood triple at the horn highlighted the end of the half for W&L, who gradually built up a 48-41 lead by the halfway point of the third. The Generals proceeded to take off from there by scoring the final 10 points of the third quarter, which came on the front end of an 18-2 run that spanned into the fourth for a 66-43 lead.
With a 23-point deficit, five minutes remaining and the result all but decided, Hollins went down swinging, scoring 14 of the game's final 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. The 18-2 run from the Generals from the third to fourth quarter underscored a 52-24 scoring margin from the 1:43 mark of the first until 5:05 was left in regulation.
TOP PERFORMERS:
W&L's offense received balanced scoring throughout, with 10 different players scoring a point and no one above 11. Schleusner, Zimmerman and classmate
Quinn McGuinness each had team highs of 11 points each. Schleusner made 5-of-9 shot attempts, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots, Zimmerman had three rebounds and three assists, with McGuinness pulling in five rebounds and dishing out three assists.
Shuttlewood made 3-of-5 shots from the field (2-4 3pt FG) for 10 points plus three rebounds and two assists, with nine points coming from outside from junior
Elka Prechel. Senior
Lauren Achter tied Schleusner's two blocks for the team high to go along with seven rebounds, while sophomore
Riley Bryant came away with two steals and had two assists.
Hollins' offense was paced by Zaria Holden, who scored a game-high 19 points and added eight rebounds. Cabria Mutz was one of four players to score six points, and she tallied a game-high 11 rebounds. Noelani Carter rounded out Hollins' top scorers with nine points and seven boards.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Schleusner's 11-point game was enough to push her into fourth place on the program's all-time scoring list. She vaulted past Becca Bolton '12 (1,424) for the number-four spot and can move into the third spot on the list with 29 more points (Jessica Hunsinger '07 – 1,455).
With three more makes from outside the arc, Prechel has nailed 188 three-point shots in her career, which moves her to eight away from passing Emily Perszyk '18 for fourth most in program history. Prechel also currently ranks seventh in program history in three-point shooting percentage at 0.348.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals made 36.1 percent (22-61) of their shots in the game, plus 20-of-30 free throws. On the other end of the floor, Hollins shot 33.8 percent (22-65) from the field, but just 30.6 percent (15-49) after the first quarter. Hollins' overall shooting including a 4-for-20 game from long range, with only two makes on 14 tries after the first quarter.
W&L held additional advantages in the game in points off turnovers (17-11), second-chance points (14-7), bench points (39-24) and fastbreak points (19-6).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to the court on Saturday when they host Ferrum at 2:00 p.m., their first time hosting the Panthers since 2022.
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.
