BEREA, Ohio – The 19th-ranked Washington and Lee women's basketball team fought off a late rally from the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Friday evening to come away with a 65-53 win the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Entering the third quarter with a 10-point lead, the Generals (25-4) opened the frame on a 10-2 run to balloon their advantage to 46-28 by the 6:42 mark. W&L made 3-of-4 shots during that time and got a team-high six points from junior
Sarah Zimmerman. A layup from Hannah Ramsden halted the run, but the Blue and White continued their strong play into the fourth and got their lead to as high as 21 points on an
Icy Keneah jumper with 7:56 left in regulation.
The Mariners (24-3) battled their best to get back into the game, however, as a 12-2 run over the next 5:58 of action cut their deficit to 11 points with just under two minutes to play. Junior
Elka Prechel then made a big three-pointer at the 1:45 mark to make it a 63-49 game, followed by a jumper from junior
Mary Schleusner 33 seconds later to all but ensure victory.
Merchant Marine opened the game with a 9-6 lead across the first 5:56 of play, before a step-back three from sophomore
Brianna Shuttlewood and a late triple from first-year
Megan Zimmerman helped the Generals end the first quarter on a 10-4 run for a 16-13 lead. The Mariners cut their deficit to a point by the 8:48 mark of the second, but the Generals then put some distance between them and their opponents with an 18-4 run over the next 7:09.
The Mariners shook a 1-of-11 shooting performance during that 7:09 span in the second to strike for the final five points before halftime to make it a 10-point W&L lead heading to the locker room.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner led the Generals with 14 points and 16 rebounds, as she made 5-of-11 field goals and all four foul shots. Schleusner also dished out a team-high three assists, blocked four shots and had two steals. Junior
Quinn McGuinness followed with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while
Sarah Zimmerman scored 10, grabbed five boards and came away with two steals.
Sophomores
Zou Raine and
Riley Bryant also made strong defensive contributions with two steals and two blocks each, plus a combined nine rebounds.
Emily Grasseler tallied a game-high 20 points for the Mariners, and she added six rebounds. Breanna Sommers scored 14 and Grace Jackson had 10 points. Ramsden led USMMA with nine rebounds, with Carolae Barton following with seven.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
With her 16 rebounds, Schleusner broke her own program record for total rebounds in a season (552). This comes just one season after she grabbed 551 boards in 32 games as a sophomore, and it is the third straight season that Schleusner has broken the program's single-season rebounds record.
The Generals' win marks their 25th of the season and improves them to 4-1 in NCAA Tournament play over the last two seasons. The 12-point margin over victory over the Mariners on Friday is also the largest NCAA Tournament win in program history.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals ended the game shooting 35.2 percent (25-71) from the field, but they saved their best for last as they made an even 50 percent (7-14) of their shots in the fourth quarter. The Mariners finished at 32.3 percent (20-62) overall shooting for the game and also saw their best shooting percentage (.417) in the fourth quarter after making just 30 percent (15-50) across the first three frames.
W&L limited Merchant Marine to just two free throw attempts across the first three quarters, including none in both the first and third quarters, before the Mariners sank 9-of-12 in the fourth. USMMA held a slight 45-43 advantage in total rebounds, but W&L had a 15-12 edge in offensive boards, which led to a 13-7 scoring lead in second-chance points for the Blue and White.
The Generals held additional scoring advantages in points off turnovers (19-8), bench points (16-2) and points in the paint (34-28), while forcing eight more turnovers (19) than they committed (11).
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE:
Head Coach
Brittney Kemp was joined by
Sarah Zimmerman and
Quinn McGuinness after the game to speak with the media.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will take No. 7/10 Baldwin Wallace on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in the second round. It will be the first all-time meeting between the Generals and Yellow Jackets in women's basketball.
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.
