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W&L Women Reach Finals
The No. 17 Washington and Lee women’s basketball team’s quest for a third consecutive Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament championship came up short on Saturday evening by a final score of 65-58 against 18th-ranked Randolph-Macon.
With the game tied at 46 entering the fourth quarter, both teams began exchanging leads until the 3:11 mark saw W&L (24-4 overall, 14-2 ODAC) with a 55-54 lead. Over the next two RMC (27-1) possessions, Catherine Kagey hit four free throws to give her team a three-point lead. After one empty possession each, Cagey came up with a steal with 1:18 left which ultimately led to a McKenzie Matheny layup with 1:04 left in regulation.
The Generals had a quick response as they got a triple to fall from first-year player Megan Zimmerman to make it a 60-58 Yellow Jackets’ lead with 56 seconds remaining. From that point on, however, Randolph-Macon sank 5-of-10 free throws while holding the Blue and White scoreless to close out the game.
Both teams opened the game hot from the field, as the Generals (7-13) and Jackets (8-14) both made better than 50 percent of their shots in the opening 10 minutes. Randolph-Macon led by two points entering the second, before Cagey made a pair of shots to start a 12-3 run to open up a 10-point lead. The Generals ended the half on a 9-4 run to cut their deficit down to five points, as they made 4-of-5 shots and got six from junior Mary Schleusner and a three from sophomore Riley Bryant.
The Yellow Jackets did just enough in the third quarter to maintain their distance, but W&L ended the frame on a 9-2 run to pull back even. Zimmerman led the team with five points in that time, with W&L holding RMC to 1-of-5 from the field heading to the fourth.
Schleusner, who broke the ODAC career rebounding record during the tournament, as well as W&L’s records for career scoring and blocks, finished the night with 31 points and 22 rebounds, as she made 13-of-25 shots from the floor, blocked four shots and had one steal. Zimmerman followed in the scoring department with eight on 3-of-5 shooting, with Bryant second on the team with five boards.
Kagey paced the Yellow Jackets with 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals and two blocks. Sam Smith scored 13 and Matheny rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points to go along with eight rebounds. Morgan Miller tied Matheny for the second-most rebounds and Marisa Ziegler led with three assists.
Following the conclusion of the game, Schleusner and junior Sarah Zimmerman joined Smith, Matheny and Kagey on the All-ODAC Tournament Team. Kagey received the tournament’s Most Valuable Player honor.
Schleusner’s 22-rebound effort pushed her up to eighth place in NCAA Division III history for career rebounds (1,431). She moved past Tytravia Riley (Bard, 2013-16), Ashley Roser (Wells, 201114) and Arlene Eagan (Buffalo State, 1988-91) on the all-time list. Next up is Jacclyn Rock of Staten Island (2002-05) at 1,492.
The Generals shot 38.1 percent (24-63) from the field and limited the Yellow Jackets to 32.3 percent (21-65) overall, with RMC’s shooting percentage going down in each quarter. Randolph-Macon held a sizeable advantage at the free throw line, however, making 22-of-28 to 5-of-11 for the Generals.
W&L held the scoring advantage in fastbreak points (13-2) and bench points (13-6), while the Yellow Jackets held edges in points off turnovers (15-6), second-chance points (14-13) and points in the paint (30-26).
W&L reached the ODAC finals by cruising to an 87-54 home win in the quarterfinals over Guilford College on Tuesday of last week and defeating Ferrum College 73-66 in the semifinals on Friday at the Salem Civic Center. Schleusner broke the ODAC’s old career rebounding record in the quarterfinals and broke W&L’s career records for scoring and blocks in the semifinals.
The Generals, who finished the tournament with an overall record of 24-4, were looking for an at-large bid in the 2025 NCAA Championship. The selection show was scheduled for Monday. To see if the Generals made it and what their schedule is, visit www.generalssports.com.
