Week 11

WASHINGTON AND LEE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (18-9) 

Mar. 5 vs. #12 Christopher Newport University (28-0)
@ Freeman Center, Newport News, Va.

PDF Version of the Notes

KING OF THE GENERALS
Mandy King (Southern Maine ’98) is in her seventh season as head women’s basketball coach at W&L and is the program’s all-time winningest coach with a 90-94 (.489) record.  She is assisted by Abby Pyzik (Lynchburg ‘04), who is in her second season. Against the field this weekend, King holds a record of 0-1 against Christopher Newport University, 4-9 against Roanoke College and 0-0 versus McDaniel.

A YEAR FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
This season has been a record-breaking year for Washington and Lee women’s basketball. Below is  what they have accomplished this season:
-18 wins on the season, a program record (previous was 16, during the 2006-07 season)
-14 ODAC victories, a program record (previous was 13, during the 2008-09 season)
-First ODAC women’s basketball championship in first-ever championship game appearance
-First-ever NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament appearance

FROM THE FREEMAN CENTER
Christopher Newport University will host first and second round action from the Freeman Center in Newport News, Va. on Friday and Saturday, with Washington and Lee, Roanoke College and McDaniel traveling to CNU. Winners of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament, the Generals (18-9) will face USA South Athletic Conference champions Christopher Newport (28-0). Fellow ODAC school Roanoke (23-3) will take on Centennial Conference champions McDaniel (20-6). The winners of Friday’s games will face each other in a second-round game on Saturday.

W&L vs. THE FIELD
The Generals have faced two of the three possible opponents in the field at Christopher Newport this weekend, posting all-time records of 0-1 against CNU and 4-28 against Roanoke College. W&L has never faced McDaniel, but holds a 2-3 record against current members of the Centennial Conference. The Blue and White faced Roanoke twice this season, dropping both contests by scores of 57-54 and 64-51.

W&L vs. CNU
Friday’s matchup will be just the second all-time meeting between W&L and Christopher Newport. The first-ever meeting occured earlier this season, with CNU claiming the 71-57 victory on Nov. 22. The Captains are members of the USA South Conference and the Generals hold an 11-8 overall record against the current members of that conference.

LAST TIME OUT (vs. Virginia Wesleyan University, W, 64-56)
Washington and Lee claimed its first-ever conference title with a 64-56 victory over Virginia Wesleyan in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship game on Sunday at the Salem Civic Center. W&L jumped out to a nine point lead (13-4) in the opening 5:10 of the game, but was held scoreless for the next 7:58 as the Marlins surged out to an 18-13 lead. First-year forward Katy Wilson ended the drought with a layup at the 6:52 mark of the first period and the Generals closed to within four points (27-23) on a three-pointer by sophomore forward Kari Ann Pfannenstein with 1:11 left in the half. However, the Marlins ended the period with a 5-0 run for a 32-23 lead at the break. The Generals opened the second half with a 9-0 run on a trio of buckets by junior center Felice Herman and a three-pointer by Pfannenstein to knot the game at 32-32 with 15:21 remaining. The game then featured four ties and seven lead changes over the next 10:16, before W&L grabbed the lead for good, 50-49, on a layup by sophomore forward Becca Bolton with 5:05 left in the game. W&L then drilled 10-of-11 free throws in the final 3:31 to pull away for their first win over the Marlins in three tries during the 2009-2010 season. W&L shot 66.7 percent (12-18) from the field in the second half, while limiting Virginia Wesleyan to 25.8 percent (8-31) shooting. The Generals also held a 40-30 advantage on the boards and drilled 17-of-21 (.810) free throw attempts. Bolton led W&L with 14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Wilson notched 13 points and 10 rebounds. Herman tallied 12 points and sophomore guard Meg Ingram and Pfannenstein chipped in nine points each.  Ingram was named the Tournament MVP, while Bolton and Wilson were also named to the all-tournament team.

LAST TIME vs. CNU (Nov. 22, L, 71-57)
Christopher Newport opened the second half with a 14-2 run and closed the period on a 16-4 surge to post a 71-57 victory over Washington and Lee at the Freeman Center. Washington and Lee led by as many as eight points (29-21) with 6:44 left in the first half, but the Captains chipped away at the Generals’ advantage, eventually cutting it to a 34-32 W&L lead at the break. CNU then opened the second half with a 14-2 run for a 46-36 lead at the 14:19 mark. The Generals recovered to knot the game at 48-48 with 10:26 remaining, but a basket by junior guard Jessica Moore gave the Captains the lead back for good at the 10:06 mark. W&L remained within striking distance, trailing 55-53 with 5:54 left, but CNU closed on a 16-4 run to pull away for the 14-point win. Sophomore forward Becca Bolton led W&L with 20 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Meg Ingram scored 16 points and had four steals, while junior center Felice Herman added seven points and six boards Junior guard Chelsie Schweers paced CNU with 22 points, five rebounds and four steals, while sophomore guard Kimmy Hopkins totaled 14 points and five boards.

SCOUTING THE CAPTAINS
CNU boasts an impressive 28-0 record on the season, which established a new school record for most consecutive wins in any sport. This will aso be CNU’s 13th NCAA appearance and fifth under head coach Carolyn Hunter. The 12th ranked Captains are led by junior guard Chelsie Schweers, who was named the USA South Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. She is also a two-time All-American, two-time first team All-USA South selection and earned D3hoops.com South Region Player of the Year last season. Hunter was named the USA South Coach of the Year for the second team in her career, while junior guard Jessica Moore was named to the first team all-conference squad and sophomore guard Kimmy Hopkins was included on the third team. Schweers currently ranks second all-time at CNU in scoring with 1,872 points, and leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage (48.7 percent) and three-pointers made per game (4.0). She is averaging 24.9 points (third in nation) and 2.8 steals per game, and shooting 53.0 percent from the field (241-455), all team-highs. Moore leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per game, while Hopkins has recorded a team-best 2.5 assists per contest.

CNU’s LAST TIME OUT (vs. Ferrum, Feb. 27, W, 82-70)
CNU completed its unbeaten run through the USA South with an 82-70 win over Ferrum in the conference championship game Saturday afternoon at the Freeman Center. The Captains used a big second half to sew up the victory.  Leading, 33-27 at halftime, CNU went on a 13-1 run, improving a 43-39 lead to 56-40 with with 9:50 to play on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Kimmy Hopkins. The lead grew to as much as 23 at 72-49 with 6:15 left and the Captains cruised in to their second-straight USA South championship. Junior guard Chelsie Schweers produced her second straight 33-point performance, going 12-of-22 from the floor and 7-of-13 on three-pointers while earning tournament MVP accolades. Junior guard Jessica Moore and sophomore guard Lauren Gural joined Schweers on the all-tournament team. Moore had 13 points and eight rebounds and Gural contributed eight points.

CONFERENCE HONORS
The Generals had two All-ODAC selections this season, with sophomore forward Becca Bolton earning first-team accolades while sophomore guard Meg Ingram was named to the second team. After claiming the ODAC title on Sunday, both Bolton and Ingram were named to the ODAC All-Tournament Team in addition to first-year guard Katy Wilson, with Ingram earning tournament MVP laurels.

DOWN THE STRETCH
The Generals have heated up down the stretch, winning 10 of their last 11 contests to enter the NCAA Tournament with an 18-9 overall record. W&L also posted 14 ODAC victories, bettering the program record by one.  Despite being picked to finish sixth in the ODAC preseason coaches poll, W&L finished as the No. 3 seed, its’ highest-ever ODAC Tournament seeding.  The 2009-10 season also marked just the fourth winning season in conference play, with W&L posting a 130-190 (.406) overall conference record in 16 seasons.  

LEAVE YOUR MARK
In just their second seasons at W&L, guard Meg Ingram and forward Becca Bolton are leaving their marks in the program record book. Ingram now has 130 career three-point field goals made, ranking her second on the all-time list behind Louisa Feve ‘07, who connected on 143 treys over four seasons. Ingram is also climbing the charts in the assists category. She currently has 201 career assists, which puts her in the ninth spot among career leaders, and she needs only two more to move into eighth. She has also recorded 114 assists this season, fourth-best in program history. Meanwhile, Bolton has added her name to some single-season categories in rebounding, free-throw shooting and points scored. This season, Bolton has recorded 301 rebounds, which is just six short of the program record for a season, held by Jessica Mentz ‘02. She has also notched 130 made free throws and 165 free throw attempts this season, which are both good for third in the single-season record book. Bolton has tallied 417 points on the season, which currently puts her in the fourth spot among single-season leaders just ahead of Ingram, who recorded 402 points last season.

SEEING DOUBLES
Sophomore forward Becca Bolton recorded her 15th double-double of the season and 23rd of her career on Sunday against Virginia Wesleyan College (14 pts, 10 reb), adding to her career-high for double-doubles in a season (she recorded eight last year). Bolton is now the single-season leader for double-doubles, surpassing Jessica Hunsinger ‘06, who recorded 14 double-doubles during her rookie campaign (2003-04) and 47 for her career. Over Bolton’s two-year career, the Generals are 16-7 (.696) when she records a double-double. On the season, Bolton has been the team leader in either individual category in 24 of the teams’ 27 contests.

CONTROLLING THE BOARDS
W&L has been strong rebounding team all season, finding itself third in the conference, out-rebounding opponents by a +5.9 average (1,083-924). The Generals led the ODAC in rebounding defense, limiting their opponents to 34.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Becca Bolton was second in the conference and is 30th in the nation with an average of 11.1 rebounds per game, while leading the conference in total rebounds (301) and defensive rebounds (204). The Generals will compete against the nation’s 13th-best rebounding team in Christopher Newport, as the Captains boast a rebounding margin of +9.1 (1,090-863).

TAKE IT DEEP
The Generals kept it interesting from behind the three-point arc on both ends of the floor this season. On offense, the Generals ranked second in the ODAC with a 33.4 shooting percentage from three. While on defense, W&L allowed its opponents to shoot just 30.1 percent, a total which ranked third in the league. W&L is 6-0 this season when shooting 40 percent or better from distance and is 10-4 when making more three-pointers than its opponents.

SHOOTING STARS I
The Blue and White finished second in the conference, shooting 41.6 percent from the field. They also ranked fifth in the league defensively, holding opponents to just 36.4 percent shooting. The Generals had two of the top five field goal percentage leaders in the ODAC, with junior center Felice Herman shooting an ODAC-leading 52.2 percent (106-203). Sophomore forward Becca Bolton found herself in the fifth spot, going 143-of-291 (49.1 percent) from the field. W&L is 7-2 this season when both Bolton and Herman shoot .500 or better from the field in a game.

SHOOTING STARS II
Christopher Newport also boasts impressive shooting percentages, including leading the nation in three point shooting percentage at 44.6 percent, with junior guard Chelsie Schweers leading the country, shooting 48.7 (113-232) percent from behind the arc. The Captains also hold the fourth-best field goal shooting percentage in the nation, recording a 46.4 percent average from the field.

CALL IT A COMEBACK
In all three of their games of the ODAC Tournament, the Generals found themselves down at halftime by an average of 7.7 points. Before the tourney, W&L had posted a record of 1-7 when its opponent led at halftime, but now finds itself with a 4-7 mark in those contests.

COMMANDING CAPTAINS
The Captains currently have the fourth-best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 78.5 points per game. They also rank seventh in the nation in scoring margin, outscoring opponents by an average of 20.4 points per game (78.5-58.1). Junior guard Chelsie Schweers is third in the nation in points per game, with an average of 24.2.

A HELPING HAND
This season sophomore guard Meg Ingram led the ODAC with an average of 4.2 assists per game. She also posted the third-best assist-turnover ratio at +1.1 (114a, 103t) while helping the Generals to record an average of 14.3 assists per game, third-best in the conference. She has notched a career-best eight assists three times this season, and has recorded five or more assists in five of her last six games. On the season, the Generals are 11-1 when Ingram records five or more helpers, with the only loss coming to Roanoke College (Feb. 19). She is just the fifth player in program history to record 100 or more assists in a season.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS
The Generals’ starting five of Kari Ann Pfannenstein, Meg Ingram, Becca Bolton, Allie Long and Felice Herman have been the driving force behind W&L’s offense this season, scoring 77.7 percent (1,345-1,737) of its points thus far. The pentad is averaging 49.8 points, 26.5 rebounds and 11.6 assists per game.

OFF THE BENCH
First-year guard Katy Wilson has found a spot in the Generals rotation this season as a solid option off the bench. She has seen action in all 27 contests for W&L, scoring a point in every game. Wilson is averaging 5.9 points (sixth on team), 5.3 rebounds (third on team) and is shooting 42.0 percent (third on team) from the field. In her last nine games, Wilson has averaged 9.3 rebounds per game, recording double-digit numbers on four occasions and leading the team in rebounding in five contests. She now has two double-doubles on the season: Feb. 9 vs. Emory & Henry (14 pts., 11 rebs.) and Feb. 28 vs. Virginia Wesleyan (13 pts., 10 rebs.).

PAGE SIX
In the game against Emory & Henry on Feb. 9, six Generals tabbed double-digit points in a single game for the first time since February 17, 1998. First-year forward Rachel Warrick led W&L with 16 points, first-year guard Katy Wilson added 14 points, sophomore forward Kari Ann Pfannenstein contributed 13 points, sophomore guard Meg Ingram chipped in 12 points, sophomore forward Becca Bolton scored 10 points and senior center Kaitlyn Kamp registered 10 points. On the season, W&L has recorded 17 games with three or more players notching double-digit points, posting a 14-3 record, while outscoring opponents by an average of 16.7 points (1,027-793) in the 14 wins.

DIFFERENTIATING POINTS
W&L had 14 ODAC victories and outscored its opponents, 1,010-785 (+16.1 ppg), in those contests. In its six ODAC losses, W&L was outscored, 354-312 (-7.0 ppg). Four of the six contests were decided by a combined nine points (2.3 point average), with the Generals going 3-4 in games decided by four points or less.

TAKE THE LEAD
This season, the Generals are 13-1 when leading at the half and 1-1 when the game is tied. Christopher Newport recorded the only come-from-behind victory, while Roanoke College went on to defeat W&L after being tied. The Generals’ largest lead going into the half has been 29 points (at Hollins, 11/30), with six of the 14 other contests also separated by double-digit margins. On the flip side, of the 11 contests that W&L has trailed at the half, only three of them have been by double-digits.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Generals had their longest home winning streak in program history (seven games) snapped by Roanoke College last Friday. The streak dated back to Jan. 9, and during that span, W&L outscored (528-396, +18.9 ppg), outrebounded (301-217, +12.0 rpg) and outshot (186-422, 44.1 percent vs. 142-389, 36.5 percent) its opponents. The previous record was six games, which occurred Jan. 20—Feb. 17 of last season.

NEW YEAR, BETTER RESULTS
Over the past six seasons under head coach Mandy King, the Generals have been more successful in the final two months of the season compared to the first two. King has a record of 10-17 (.370) in November and 9-16 (.360) in December, but in turn has led W&L to a 39-35 (.527) record in January and a 30-28 (.517) mark in February. The Generals went 7-3 (.700) in January 9-2 (.818) in February this season.

--GENERALS--