LEXINGTON, Va. – Sophomore Mary Schleusner led the ninth-ranked Washington and Lee women's basketball team to a 68-61 win over No. 22 Vassar in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night with a program-record 45 points and record-tying 29 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Both defenses came out sharp, holding the opposing offenses to 35 percent and under across the opening quarter of play. The Generals used a 10-3 run in the frame to gain the early edge after one, 14-12. After scoring eight points herself in the first quarter, Schleusner powered a 16-7 W&L run in the second with 14 points of her own, as the Generals took their largest lead of the half at 30-19.
The Brewers battled back before the break, but a pair of Quinn McGuinness free throws with 27 seconds remaining left the Blue and White up eight points at halftime.
Schleusner continued to roll in the second half with six more quick points, followed by a Hanna Malik three pointer to tie the team's largest lead all night (13). W&L's offense cooled the rest of the third (2-11 FG), while Vassar hit 5-of-10 shots and 3-of-6 from outside to close the gap to 50-43 entering the fourth. Tova Gelb was a driving force in the third for Vassar, as she scored eight points in the final 5:20.
Opening the fourth, Schleusner added nine more points in the first 5:30 to help the Generals stretch their lead back to 61-49. After four points from the Brewers, Malik got her third three of the game to fall, followed by Schleusner's final bucket of the night with 2:33 left. That layup had W&L back up by 13 points, which proved insurmountable for the Brewers.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner's 45 points came on 19-of-29 shooting, while her 29 rebounds were split 18 on the defensive glass and 11 offensive. She also blocked seven shots and recorded four steals. Malik finished the night with 11 points, and she tied the team high with five assists. McGuinness also dished out five dimes and pulled down six rebounds, the second most on the team.
The Brewers were led on offense by an impressive showing from Sierra McDermed, who tallied 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Julia Harvey followed with 11 points, four boards and two assists, and Gelb had 10 points and eight rebounds.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Schleusner's 29 rebounds on Friday night only tied her own program record, which she set just five days ago, it broke the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament record of 24 held by Ferrum's Kylene Culler during the 2014 tournament. With 45 points, Schleusner not only set a new W&L program record for points in a game, she became the first player in program history to get to 40. Schleusner's previous career high was 38 (Nov. 25, 2023 vs. Emory), and the program record was held by Becca Bolton '12 (39 at Lynchburg, 2/18/11).
W&L's win on Friday night set two more firsts for the program. It was the first NCAA Tournament win in program history, and it extended the team's winning streak to 12 games which surpassed an 11-game winning streak earlier this season that had held the top mark.
Malik's 11 points propelled her past Ansley Miller '00 (1,165) for 10th place on the program's all-time scoring list. Schleusner also moved up one spot to No. 12, surpassing Chrissy Burghardt '99 (1,080).
With her seven blocks, Schleusner reached 90 total for the second consecutive season, and she needs nine more to tie the program's single-season record held by Jessica Hunsinger '07. Additionally, Schleusner vaulted past Gabrielle Wardwell of VTSU-Johnson for the rebounds-per-game lead in Division III. Wardwell concluded this season at 16.3, while Schleusner's average is now 16.4.
TEAM STATS:
W&L finished the night shooting 38.9 percent (28-72) from the field but shot above 50 percent in both the second (9-17) and fourth quarters (8-15). The Generals limited the Brewers to 27.6 percent (21-76) shooting overall, and the visitors failed to shoot better than 33.3 percent in any of the four quarters.
The Blue and White held positive game margins in rebounds (54-46), points off turnovers (11-6), points in the paint (38-16) and fastbreak points (14-4). Vassar scored more second-chance points (21-18) and bench points (7-6).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will play in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. against 11th-ranked Catholic in Holekamp Gym. The Cardinals advanced on Friday with a 71-55 win over Penn State-Behrend.