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Monday, Feb. 27
W&L Women Win ODAC Title
The Washington and Lee University women's basketball team used a pair of lengthy runs, one in each half, to claim the program's second Old Dominion title by defeating seventh-seeded Shenandoah 73-57 on Sunday at the Salem Civic Center.
With the win, the top-seeded Generals improved to 22-6 overall and clinched the ODAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III tournament. It will mark the program's third all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and it will be the second straight showing after earning an at-large bid last season.
The Generals had a sluggish start to the game, but only trailed by four with 3:42 remaining in the first quarter. W&L then shook the rust by using a 14-0 run into the second quarter to move ahead, 24-14. The run was a team effort, as Hanna Malik, Kathryn Vandiver and Mary Schleusner each had four points in that span.
The Hornets (19-10) rebounded with a 12-4 spurt to cut it back to a 28-26 ball game with just under a minute to play in the half. Then, a free throw from Sofia Feigelson first-year and a deep three banked in at the buzzer from Malik gave W&L a six-point halftime lead.
Still ahead by six points after the first minute of the third quarter, Schleusner and Vandiver dominated for the Blue and White, as they each scored eight points during an 18-0 run, which gave the Generals a 52-30 advantage at the 3:13 mark. That lead proved too much for the Hornets, as the smallest margin for the remainder of the game was the final difference of 16 points.
Schleusner, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, led the way for the Blue and White with 30 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks, while shooting 12-of-23 from the field. Schleusner's 19 rebounds tied for the fifth-most in a game in program history, and that mark also ballooned her season total to a program-record 323. Additionally, Schleusner finished the three-game run to the title with 40 total rebounds, the fifth most in a single ODAC tournament.
Vandiver finished the day with a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double, to go along with five assists and three blocks. Malik contributed 12 points and added six boards and seven dimes. The duo of Vandiver and Malik was also announced as members of the All-Tournament team along with Schleusner.
On the way to the finals, W&L beat Ferrum 85-69 in the quarterfinals on Thursday before trouncing Salem 71-45 on Saturday.
For the Generals’ NCAA tournament schedule and updates, visit www.generalssports.com.
SVU Swimming Wins Conference
The Southern Virginia University men’s swimming team won the Independent South Conference championship, while the SVU women placed second Feb. 16-18 in Cary, N.C.
It was the second straight title for the men. The Knights are coached by Jennifer Moore.
The SVU men tallied 624 points, while Piedmont placed second of four teams with 495 points. Completing the standings were William Peace (276) and Warren Wilson (101).
Piedmont (573) won the women’s title, while SVU (554) placed second of six teams, and William Peace (278) finished third. Rounding out the standings were Pfeiffer (169), Warren Wilson (83) and Salem College (3).
For more on this meet, visit knightathletics.com.
W&L Men Fall In 4OT
In a marathon game, the fourth-seeded W&L men's basketball team lost 117-103 in quadruple-overtime in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference quarterfinals against fifth-seeded Roanoke College on Friday at the Salem Civic Center.
Despite a 46-point performance from Robert DiSibio, the Generals (18-7) were outscored by the Maroons (19-6) in what proved to be the final OT period after a stalemate in the previous three stanzas of extra time and regulation. Roanoke would fall to top seed Randolph-Macon 62-50 in the semifinals on Saturday before Randolph-Macon won the ODAC by beating third-seeded Guilford 61-48 on Sunday.
DiSibio broke the ODAC tournament single-game record with his 46 points over 55 minutes of action, while Roanoke's Kasey Draper tallied 40, fifth-most in tournament history. Tonight's contest was the first ODAC Tournament game to feature a pair of 40-point scorers and it was the first 4OT game since 1988. The contest boasted an additional conference tournament first – Roanoke’s Edosa U-Edosomwan recorded a triple-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
Roanoke opened up the fourth OT period on a 9-0 slant and forced the Generals' hand to foul the Maroons in the final minute. Roanoke finished with a 7-0 streak, all from the charity stripe, to break the stalemate and outscored the Generals 20-6 to advance.
During regulation, the Blue and White needed to play catchup after falling behind by as many as 12 points in the opening half. W&L went into the locker room with a nine point deficit at the break, 46-37, but clawed its way out of the hole with a 15-2 run late in the second period.
During that streak, W&L’s Richie Manigault drove into the lane for a layup and tied the game up at 64 each. Sam Wise then gave the Generals their first lead of the night with a free throw, 65-64. Draper stopped the streak with 5:07 left in regulation, but another 6-0 run put W&L ahead 71-66.
Roanoke ended regulation with three triples at the 3:24, 1:44, and 0:36 marks. Draper had the final two field goals in regulation for Roanoke, his first reclaimed the lead for Roanoke and his second was the equalizer after W&L pulled away 75-72.
The two team's traded baskets through the first, second and third OT period. DiSibio found Jack Lewis when he curled off the elbow for an open layup that forced the second overtime. Manigault and DiSibio tied up the game at 90-90 to push into the third OT. Disibio then hit a three with ten seconds remaining to force the decisive period.
Lewis added 19 points in 50 minutes of action and recorded a double-double with 10 grabbed boards. Drew Harrell was third in team scoring with 15 points - he also recorded two blocks and a steal with 14 rebounds.
To see if the Generals made the NCAA Division III tournament, visit www.generalssports.com.
W&L Sends Three Grapplers To NCAAs
Three W&L wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships with their performances at the Southeast Regional on Friday and Saturday at York College in York, Pa.
Seniors Ryan Luth (157-pounds and Cameron Blizzard (197) and junior Harrison Kelly (165) all finished in the top three to advance. The NCAA Division III National Championships will take place next Friday and Saturday, March 10 and 11 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke. Kelly and Blizzard placed second in their weight classes, and Luth placed third.
W&L finished third of 21 teams, scoring 109 points. Stevens Institute of Technology won with 181 points, and Alvernia University (114.5) placed second. Rounding out the top five were York College (97) and Wilkes University (87.5).
For more on W&L wrestling, visit www.generalssports.com.
VMI Beats Wofford In OT
The Virginia Military Institute men’s basketball team trailed by 10 points with 2:27 left to play Wednesday evening, but the Keydets mounted a furious comeback to rally for an 87-83 overtime victory over visiting Wofford College in Southern Conference action from Cameron Hall on Senior Night in Lexington.
Wofford led 67-57 after a 6-0 run to seemingly take control in the closing minutes. Tony Felder Jr. then nailed a 3-pointer for VMI, and Rickey Bradley Jr. converted a layup after a steal to quickly cut the edge to five.
The Terriers still led by five (71-66) with under a minute to play, but Bradley made a layup and two free throws to make it a one-point game. Following two Wofford free throws, VMI’s Tyler Houser drilled a 3-pointer to tie it, and the VMI defense got a late stop to force OT.
Wofford took a quick four-point lead in the extra session but after that momentum shifted to the Keydets. Two free throws from Houser and another three from Felder, Jr. gave VMI the lead and Felder and Bradley each converted a pair of free throws in the final 10 seconds to seal the victory. VMI limited Wofford to just one point in the final 3:29 of the game.
Bradley led the Keydets with a career-high and game-high 24 points and added three assists and three steals, while Asher Woods scored 21 points before fouling out late in the second half. Taeshaud Jackson II posted a double-double with 15 points and rebounds before following out in the first possession of OT. VMI senior Sam Wolfe put in quality minutes and was on the floor in the final home game of his career.
VMI concluded the regular season with an 85-66 road loss to Western Carolina on Saturday.
The Keydets (7-24 overall, 2-16 SoCon) will enter the Southern Conference tournament as the 10th seed and will face seventh-seeded Chattanooga in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C.
For updates on VMI in the SoCon tournament, visit www.vmikeydets.com.
