SEWANEE, Tenn. (Dec. 31, 2013) – A second-half comeback helped the Sewanee women's basketball team defeat rival Washington & Lee, 53-47, Tuesday afternoon inside Juhan Gymnasium.
After back-to-back wins, Sewanee heads into Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play with a 6-4 overall record.
In the first half, Washington & Lee started the game strong. The Generals made 54.5 percent of their attempts. That total included a 66.7 percent effort from beyond the three-point arc.
Despite a close affair throughout most of the first half, W&L slowly stretched its lead over the final five minutes.
After two free throws by Shelbi Hendricks, guard Annie Gauf hit a three right before time expired which helped the Generals to a nine-point lead at halftime, 30-21.
In the second half, Sewanee responded quickly.
The Tigers jumped out to a 31-30 lead after Sewanee outscored the Generals 10-0 the first five minutes of the half. During that stretch Haley McDonough, Paige Lowe, and Savannah Rose all made shots for the Tigers.
W&L finally stopped the Sewanee run when Katie Wildes made a layup off an inbound pass from Gauf.
From there, the Tigers used an 8-0 run to lead by eight, 42-34, with 11:01 to play.
Down the stretch a three by Kayla Sewell kept the Tigers' lead at eight, 49-41.
W&L would rally with under a minute to play. However, despite six straight points by the Generals, two free throws by Lowe sealed the victory for Sewanee.
Overall, Sewanee made 35.2 percent of its attempts. That included a 42.3 field goal percentage in the second half.
Defensively, the Tigers limited W&L to a 38.5 field goal percentage. After playing well in the first half, W&L managed only a 26.7 field goal percentage in the second half.
Individually, Lowe led all scorers with a game-high 13 points. Medley pitched in nine points while Casey Hassett added eight points and seven rebounds.
Guard Paige Corvino led W&L with 12 points and six rebounds. Wesleigh Vick also finished in double figures for the Generals with 10 points.
After winning two straight games, Sewanee will open SAA play with a 1:00 p.m. (EST) contest at rival Centre Saturday.
For more information on Sewanee Athletics, please visit www.SewaneeTigers.com. You can also check the Tigers out on Twitter and Facebook.