LEXINGTON, Va. – The ninth-ranked Washington and Lee women's basketball team never trailed on Saturday night and rode a hot start to an 80-70 win over No. 11 Catholic in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (28-2) surged out of the gates in the first quarter with 11 straight points before the Cardinals (26-3) got their first bucket at the 5:59 mark, a triple from Kerry Flaherty. Sophomore Quinn McGuinness had two big answers for the Blue and White early on with a three coming immediately following the Flaherty triple, and again after CUA's Sarah White nailed a three.
Trailing by as many as 13 points in the opening frame, the Cardinals fought back with a 10-5 run, but W&L sophomore Elka Prechel sank her second three of the quarter with 38 seconds to leave the Generals ahead, 27-16.
Both defenses stepped up in a second quarter that saw each offense shoot below 25 percent from the field. The second quarter favored the Generals, however, by a 12-11 margin for a 39-27 halftime lead.
Catholic's offense came alive in the third quarter, cutting the W&L lead down to 53-48 with 3:35 remaining thanks to 8-of-9 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from deep, including eight points from White. At the 2:48 mark of the third, W&L first-year Riley Bryant got a layup to go, before she ended the period with her second made three of the game to cushion the Generals' lead back to eight points.
McGuinness scored another four points in the first six minutes of the fourth, with Prechel contributing her third three of the night, as W&L pushed its lead back up to 14 points. Catholic responded with a 9-1 run until 2:30 remained, but Malik scored five of the Generals' final nine points on the night to keep them in front and get the team into the Round of 16.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Schleusner ended the night with 24 points, 24 rebounds and seven more blocks, and she came up clutch at the free throw line with a 12-of-13 effort. McGuinness followed with 17 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field and 8-of-12 on foul shots, while Malik tallied 13 points, six boards and a steal. Bryant rounded out a group of four Generals in double figures with a season-high 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-3 3pt FG).
Catholic also had four players reach double-digit point totals, led by White at 15 points and Flaherty with 13. White also dished out a team-high six assists and had four steals. Tori Fernandez made 4-of-7 shots, including 2-of-4 from outside, to finish with 11 points, while Alexa Kenah missed a double-double by one rebound.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
The Generals advance to the first NCAA Round of 16 in program history following their 2-0 weekend in Holekamp Gym, in what was also the program's first hosting opportunity in the NCAA Tournament. The team's victory marked its 13th straight overall to extend the active program record.
Two more program records went down on Saturday night from the team record book. With 11 made threes, the Generals broke the 2022-23 squad's record of 232 makes, and they go into their next game at 238. They also broke the single-season free throws made record of 430 set during the 1998-99 season. Additionally, the team can set the single-season assists record (495) with seven more helpers. That record is also held by last season's team.
Malik and Schleusner moved themselves closer to individual records with their performances on Saturday. Malik made two threes on the night, which leaves her five away from breaking Meg Ingram's '12 career record of 260. Schleusner needs three more blocks to surpass Jessica Hunsinger's '07 single-season blocks record of 99, and seven more swats would move Schleusner above Megan Babst '02 for second place in career blocks (194).
TEAM STATS:
The Generals finished the game at 36.1 percent (22-61) field goal shooting, but they made 40.7 percent (11-27) of their threes and 80.6 percent (25-31) of their free throws. Catholic ended the night at 30.5 percent (25-82) shooting overall and converted 9-of-15 (.600) free throws. W&L also won the rebounding battle (57-43) and held a 15-12 advantage in second-chance points.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to action on Friday, March 8, for the NCAA Tournament Round of 16, where they will face third-ranked Rhode Island College. Game time and location will be announced in the coming days.
W&L POSTGAME INTERVIEWS (CLANCY, SCHLEUSNER, MCGUINNESS):
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.