BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Behind a 29-to-4 advantage in points off of turnovers and three players in double figures, the Bridgewater Eagles women's basketball team ran its home winning streak to 12 with a solid 67-59 victory over the visiting Washington and Lee Generals.
With the win, Bridgewater moves to 17-3 on the season, 12-3 in ODAC action and puts a vise grip on third place in the conference standings.
Bridgewater struck first on a pair of Katelynn Hottinger (Linville, Va./Broadway) free throws to take a 2-0 lead, before the Generals knotted the game up at two each off of a Katy Wilson layup just 51 seconds into the game.
Following the Wilson layup, the Eagles ran up the game's next 10 points to open up an early 12-2 advantage when a Jordan Burkholder layup found the bottom of the cup with 14:32 to play in the opening frame.
Washington and Lee responded with a four-point outburst to cut the lead back to single digits at a 12-6 margin with 13:28 to play in the first.
Bridgewater's lead was stuck in the vicinity of six points for the next nine minutes before a Bianca Booker layup jump started a 6-0 run to put the Eagles up 30-18 after a Booker jumper ended the run with 97 ticks left in the first stanza.
Over the final one and a half minutes, the Generals tallied all four points to cut the Bridgewater lead to a 30-22 halftime advantage.
Burkholder led the Eagles with eight first half points.
Out of the halftime break, the two teams traded buckets, before a Burkholder trey opened an 8-0 run, forcing the Generals to call an early timeout with the Eagles leading by a 42-28 tally with 16:39 to play.
Washington and Lee brought the lead back down to 11 at a 46-35 margin with 14:32 to play before an 8-2 Eagles run put the lead to a game-high 17 points at a 54-37 margin with 10:21 remaining.
But, the Generals weren't finished.
After widdling the Bridgewater lead to 10 points with 5:44 to play, and Burkholder on the bench with four fouls, Washington and Lee went on a feverish 8-2 run of its own to cut the Bridgewater lead to four off of a Meg Ingram three-pointer with 1:43 to play.
Following the Ingram three-pointer, the Eagles called timeout to regroup, but a turnover out of the timeout allowed the Generals a chance to cut the Eagles lead to one possession, but an Ingram turnover at the other end gave Bridgewater the ball back with under 60 ticks remaining.
Washington and Lee fouled the conference's leading free-throw shooter with 34 seconds remaining, and Jessica Mullen converted both ends of a one-and-one to extend the lead to a deep two-possession game, with Bridgewater ahead 65-59.
Following a missed layup at the other end, Washington and Lee sent Jenny Logan to the charity stripe where Logan converted both to seal the deal, giving Bridgewater its fifth straight win with a 67-59 victory.
The win for the Eagles was their first against Washington and Lee since the 2008-2009 season.
Offensively, the Eagles were led by a pair of 18-point performances from Burkholder and Mullen. Burkholder also recorded five steals in the game to become the single-season steals leader, picking off her 107th pass of the season. Logan also pitched in a dozen points in the win.
On the glass, the Eagles were led by Logan's seven boards.
Washington and Lee was led offensively by Ingram's 18-point effort.
On the glass, Becca Bolton was unstoppable pulling down a game-high 18 boards as part of a 16-point, 18 rebound double-double. Washington and Lee controlled the glass, owning a 45-to-33 advantage in the rebound department.
Washington and Lee committed 26 turnovers, while the Eagles committed a season-low 14 miscues in the win.
Aside from the 29-to-4 advantage in points off of turnovers, the Eagles also owned a 16-to-4 advantage in fast break points.
Bridgewater is back in action on Tuesday when Bridgewater alum Allison Nichols returns to Nininger Hall with the Randolph WildCats. Action from Nininger Hall is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start.