LEXINGTON, Va. - The fourth-ranked Washington and Lee University women's basketball team's quest for their third Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship begins on Wednesday, Feb. 25 as they welcome eighth-seeded Roanoke College to Holekamp Gym for the conference quarterfinals.
The Blue and White secured the top seed for the third time in the last four seasons, earning the right to host the opening round of the tournament. W&L claimed the No. 1 seed after completing the regular season with a perfect 25-0 record, the first undefeated season in program and ODAC history. The Generals join Randolph-Macon (2005 & 2025) and Roanoke (1990, 1991 & 1994) as the only teams to finish the conference slate with an unblemished record of 16-0.
The Generals enter the conference tournament with the highest-scoring offense in the league at 74.8 points per game. W&L has also dominated the glass, leading the conference with 47.9 rebounds per game while averaging a league-best 16.4 offensive rebounds and 31.5 defensive rebounds per contest. Opponents are averaging 34.8 rebounds per game against the Blue and White this season.
The Quarterfinal Match Up
Eighth-seeded Roanoke will make the trip to Lexington for the second time this season, with the last matchup coming on Jan. 28. The last time the Maroons and Generals met in the ODAC Tournament was in 2019, when the Blue and White secured an 83-62 victory to advance to the title game. Roanoke enters the postseason with a 12-13 overall record and a 6-10 mark in conference play.
Senior
Mary Schleusner leads the offensive effort, averaging 21.0 points per game on 49.7 percent shooting from the field. Senior point guard
Quinn McGuinness also averages double figures with 10.2 points per game, shooting 39.4 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from beyond the arc, while leading the team with 79 assists.
Sarah Zimmerman follows McGuinness in scoring at 9.3 points per game on 47.1 percent shooting from the field and has dished out 37 assists.
Schleusner anchors the defensive effort as well, leading the team and the league—and ranking fourth in Division III—with 16.8 rebounds per game. She has also recorded a team-high 54 blocks to go along with 43 steals. Zimmerman and
Riley Bryant join Schleusner with double-digit blocks this season. Zimmerman ranks second on the team with 24 blocks, becoming the fifth player in program history to record 100 career blocks in the Feb. 18 win over Bridgewater, while also adding 24 steals. Bryant has totaled 19 blocks this season and added 14 steals.
Ashley Fowler leads the Maroons with 11.9 points per game and 149 rebounds (6.0 per game), while Paige Breuer averages 10.1 points and owns a team-high 36.4 percent mark (36-99) from beyond the arc. Alicea Farmer is Roanoke's third-leading scorer at 9.6 points per game on 42.6 percent shooting from the field. Farmer also leads the team in assists (55), steals (36), blocks (20), and rebounds per game (6.1).
The winner of Wednesday's quarterfinal will face No. 4 Shenandoah or No. 5 Guilford in the ODAC Semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. at the Salem Civic Center. The semifinals and championship games will be played in Salem, Va. with the title game to be played on Sunday, Mar. 1 at 2 p.m.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals | Wednesday, February 25th | at Seeds 1-4
Game 1: #8 Roanoke at #1 Washington and Lee | 7 p.m.
Game 2: #5 Guilford at #4 Bridgewater | 7 p.m.
Game 3: #6 Hollins at #3 Bridgewater | 7 p.m.
Game 4: #7 Virginia Wesleyan at #2 Randolph-Macon | 7 p.m.
Semifinals | Saturday, February 28th | at Salem Civic Center
Game 5: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 | 2 p.m
Game 6: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 | 4:30 p.m.
Championship | Saturday, November 15 | at Salem Civic Center
Match 7: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6 | 2 p.m.
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.
