LEXINGTON, Va. – A hot start to the game and a 31-point first quarter propelled the No. 17 Washington and Lee women's basketball team to a 91-57 win over Lynchburg on Saturday afternoon to sweep the regular season series.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (19-3, 11-2 ODAC) raced out to a 12-2 lead after just three minutes behind 4-of-4 shooting. After an Audra Petty three dropped in for the Hornets (7-13, 4-9 ODAC), junior
Mary Schleusner answered with a triple to start a 19-7 W&L run to end the quarter. The Generals made 12-of-17 shots in the first quarter, including 4-of-8 from outside, while holding Lynchburg to 4-of-14 overall for a 31-12 lead.
W&L went on a 10-0 run from the end of the first quarter to a minute into the second to grow its lead to 35-12. The Hornets then began to hit some shots to go on a 12-3 run of their own, but the Blue and White regrouped to outscore the visitors, 13-7, over the final five minutes of the half.
An 11-2 run for the Generals in the third helped them build their lead to 67-44 with 1:38 left before the fourth, with another spurt of 19-6 in the final period putting a stamp on the win. Schleusner led the team with 13 points in the second half, with Kate Littlejohn leading the Hornets with 11 second-half points.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner logged her third 30-point game of the season to lead W&L, as she finished at 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting plus 17 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals. Junior
Quinn McGuinness followed with 13 points, as she went 2-for-2 from the field, both beyond the arc, and sank 7-of-8 foul shots, to go along with six rebounds. Junior
Elka Prechel scored nine points, while junior
Icy Keneah and sophomore
Zou Raine both dishing out four assists.
Littlejohn paced the Hornets' offense with 15 points, with Olivia Harris scoring 13. Bree Spainhour led the team with five rebounds, plus nine points, and she also tallied a team-high three assists.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Schleusner's 30 points vaulted her into eighth place on the program's single-season points list (442). She is two points behind
Hanna Malik '24 (444 – 2023-24) for seventh and five points from Emily Perszyk '17 (447 – 2016-17) for sixth.
Schleusner also crossed the 1,600-point barrier, as she continues her chase of Jessica Mentz '02 (1,742) for the program's all-time scoring record. Schleusner will enter her next appearance with 1,620 points for her career. Additionally, Schleusner is two rebounds away from an even 1,300 for her career, as she closes in on the all-time ODAC record of 1,395 held by Randolph-Macon's Kelly Williams (2016-20).
The Generals are just one win away from securing, not just the fourth 20-win season in program history, but their fourth-straight 20-win season. A 20th victory would tie the 2021-22 team for the third-most wins in a season in program history.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals finished the game shooting 49.2 percent (30-61) from the field, helped by their blistering pace in the first quarter. They also made 39.1 percent (9-23) of their threes and 78.6 percent (22-28) of their foul shots. Lynchburg shot 30.6 percent (19-62) for the day but was held under 30 percent in three of the four quarters.
W&L held a massive 56-21 advantage in total rebounds, including 14-4 on the offensive glass, which helped the Blue and White outscore the visitors, 20-4, in second-chance points. The Generals held additional edges in points in the paint (36-24) and bench points (28-12), while conceding the points off turnovers (8-3) battle.
UP NEXT:
The Generals do not play a midweek game this upcoming week, but will return to action next Saturday at Shenandoah at 2:00 p.m. in a rematch of an exciting 62-59 W&L win from January 15.
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.
