LYNCHBURG, Va. – Junior
Elka Prechel became the fourth player in program history to reach 200 career made three-point shots, as the No. 17 Washington and Lee women's basketball team bounced back from its third loss of the season over the weekend with a 70-61 win at Randolph on Wednesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The first half was about as even as it gets, as the largest lead was four points from W&L (18-3, 10-2 ODAC) at the 7:28 and 6:52 marks of the second quarter, while Randolph's (10-11, 5-7 ODAC) largest lead was two points on three occasions. In total, the first half saw nine lead changes and seven ties, with the halftime score sitting at 28-28 after a Ravyn Gill three tied the game in the final seconds.
Prechel and junior
Mary Schleusner Prechel highlighted the first half for the Blue and White individually, as Schleusner had 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting overall, to go along with 14 rebounds and a steal at the break. Prechel, on the other hand, connected on a triple at the 1:10 mark of the second quarter to become just the fourth player in program history to reach 200 made three-point shots.
W&L's offense started to click in the third quarter, as the visitors scored the first seven points of period, including a three from sophomore
Riley Bryant at the 8:20 mark for a seven-point lead. The WildCats battled in the third until back-to-back threes from Prechel and junior
Quinn McGuinness fell to give W&L a 50-42 lead with four minutes left in the third.
After that, Randolph never came closer than five points of the Generals' lead. This was helped by the Generals holding the WildCats without a field goal from 4:59 of the third to 9:19 of the fourth. Prechel and sophomore
Brianna Shuttlewood sank consecutive three-point shots in the fourth, as well, to run the W&L lead to a high of 11 with 2:10 to play.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner finished the night with 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the floor, plus 4-for-4 on foul shots, to go along with 26 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Prechel added two more triples in the game to finish at 10 points, and McGuinness notched 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
The WildCats were led by Renee Clines, who scored 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting and 4-of-6 from long range. Teniyah Crenshaw-Patterson added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Kylie Stark contributed 11 points, six boards, five dimes and three steals.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Prechel's first three of the game put her in the company of Meg Ingram '12,
Hanna Malik '24 and Taylor Casey '20 for players to make 200 or more threes in a career for the W&L women's basketball program. Now with 202, Prechel looks to chase down Casey (231) for third place on the program's leaderboard. Prechel is also one of 26 active Division III women's basketball players with 200 or more made three-point shots.
After beating the WildCats three times last season, Wednesday's W&L victory marked six straight in the all-time head-to-head, with the Generals having won 13 of the last 14 meetings.
TEAM STATS:
W&L shot 39.4 percent (26-66) on the night, including 45.9 percent (17-37) in the middle two quarters, while holding Randolph to 32.4 percent (22-68) overall and 26.9 percent (7-26) on three-point shots.
A 49-28 advantage in total rebounds, including an 18-11 edge in offensive boards, helped the Generals to a 13-2 positive margin in second-chance points, in addition to 38-28 in the paint. The WildCats outscored the Blue and White 16-7 off turnovers and 9-8 on fastbreaks.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will be back in action on Saturday when they host Lynchburg at 4:00 p.m., looking to sweep the season series against the Hornets after a 66-47 win back on November 23.
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.
