Week 1

WASHINGTON AND LEE (0-0) vs. MARY WASHINGTON (0-0) • 11/17/09 • 7:00 PM

WASHINGTON AND LEE VS. CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT (0-0) • 11/21/09 • 4:00 PM

 
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SERIES INFO:
W&L vs. Mary Washingon: Mary Washington leads 7-2
Current Streak: +3, Mary Washington
Last Meeting: Mary Washington 74, W&L 43

W&L vs. Christopher Newport: First Meeting

HITTING THE HARDWOOD
W&L is hitting the hardwood for its 17th season during the 2009-10 campaign and does not have a stellar history in season-openers.  Since the program began in 1993-94, W&L has posted a 3-13 overall record in the first game of the season and has never won at home to begin a season.  W&L opened last season with a 74-43 loss to the Eagles in Fredericksburg.  

LOOKING AHEAD
The Blue and White will take to the court on Saturday, as they travel to Christopher Newport for a 4:00 pm game.

LAST MEETING WITH THE EAGLES
Senior guard Kaitie Clarkin scored a team-high 12 points in leading Mary Washington to a 74-43 victory over Washington and Lee in last season’s opening game for W&L. The Eagles held a 19-12 lead with 10:23 left in the first half, but a 13-0 surge over the next 7:30 gave them a 34-14 lead en route to a 38-20 lead at the break. The Generals, who were hampered by 30.0 percent (15-50) shooting and 24 turnovers, were paced by senior guard Bethany Ridenhour’s 12 points and four rebounds. Guard Meg Ingram notched five points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, while senior forward Kara Nadeau and forward Kari Ann Pfannenstein tallied six points each. Clarkin was joined in double figures for the Eagles by center Lauren Kornacki and forward Kate Carlezon, who registered 10 points each.

W&L vs. MARY WASHINGTON
This is the 10th meeting between Mary Washington and Washington and Lee, with the Eagles holding a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series.  UMW has won three-straight in the series, including a 74-43 decision last season at Goolrick Gymnasium.

W&L vs. CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT
This will be the first-ever meeting between W&L and Christopher Newport. The Captains are members of the USA South Conference and the Generals hold an 11-7 overall record against the current members of that conference.

LAST TIME OUT (2/26/09)
Fourth-seeded Bridgewater College limited fifth-seeded Washington and Lee to just 33.9 percent (20-59) shooting from the floor and forced 26 turnovers in defeating the Generals, 77-65, in the quarterfinals of the ODAC Tournament at the Salem Civic Center. The Eagles used a 10-0 run midway through the first half to build a 10-point advantage (18-8) with 11:13 to play. The Generals closed to within 36-32 with 13 seconds left in the half and the Eagles carried a 38-32 lead into the break. The Generals remained within striking distance early in the second stanza, trailing just 46-40 with 14:50 remaining. However, Bridgewater used a 19-7 run over the next 6:49 to take a commanding 18-point (65-47) lead with 8:01 left in the contest. W&L would close the gap to seven points (68-61) with 3:48 left, but could get no closer as Bridgewater claimed its third win over W&L this season. Forward Rebecca Bolton led W&L with 21 points and nine rebounds, while first-year guard Meg Ingram tallied 15 points and five boards. Senior guard Bethany Ridenhour notched 14 points and seven steals and center Felice Herman chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds. Jennifer Saunders paced Bridgewater with 16 points.

SCOUTING MARY WASHINGTON
The Eagles will be taking to the court for the first time this season. The team returns eight players from last season’s squad that went 23-6 overall, won its second-straight College Athletic Conference title and advanced to its fifth-consecutive NCAA Tournament.  Among the top returnees in sophomore guard Katie Wimmer, who averaged a team-best 10.9 points and 5.7 rebounds last season.  Sophomore guard Jenna McRae is also back after contributing 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in 2008-09.  UMW is coached by seventh-year Head Coach Deena Applebury, who has posted a 134-34 (.798) overall record with the Eagles.

SCOUTING CHRISTOPER NEWPORT
Christopher Newport was tabbed by the USA South’s preseason poll to capture the conference. The Captains took the conference last season, notching their second title in three seasons. A total of 11 players return from the 2008-09 campaign, including the  D3hoops.com South Region Player of the Year and a first-team All-USA South selection, junior guard Chelsie Schweers. Schweers averaged 21.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.8 steals per game.  Junior forward Jessica Moore and sophomore guard Kimmy Hopkins are also back for another go-round.  Moore contributed 12.2 points and 6.6 boards per game, while Hopkins posted averages of 10.6 points and 2.1 assists per game.  CNU is coached by Carolyn Hunter, who is in her 12th season and has led the Captains to a 205-98 (.677) overall record.

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 72-85 (.458) record.  She is assisted by Abby Pyzik (Lynchburg ‘04), who is in her second season.

POLL POSITION
The Generals were tabbed sixth out of the 11 teams in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s women’s basketball coaches preseason poll. Roanoke topped the poll after receiving 10 first-place votes and 120 points. Randolph-Macon followed in second place with 109 points and one first-place vote, while Eastern Mennonite (82), Bridgewater (81), Virginia Wesleyan (81), Washington and Lee (79), Guilford (53), Emory & Henry (44), Lynchburg (40), Randolph (24) and Hollins (13) rounded out the polling.

LOOK WHO’S BACK
W&L returns six players from last season’s 14-12 campaign, including captains Kaitlyn Kamp and Allie Long.  A center, Kamp led the team in blocks (15) and registered averages of 2.6 points, 0.6 blocks and 3.9 rebounds per game last season.  A guard, Long finished finished the season with averages of 2.8 points, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game.  Junior center Felice Herman also returns after a stellar sophomore campaign where she led the ODAC with a .557 shooting percentage and averaged 10.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.  The upperclassmen are joined by three strong sophomores: guard Meg Ingram (15.5 ppg, 3.3 assists, 2.9 3’s per game), guard/forward Kari Ann Pfannenstein (5.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg) and guard/forward Becca Bolton (12.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.1 apg).  

NEW FACES
W&L welcomes five new players to its roster this season -- sophomore guard Allison Sublett and first-year guards Megan Marks, Katy Wilson, Rachel Warrick and Caroline Vines.

400 CLUB
The Generals season finale against Bridgewater in the 2008-09 season marked the 400th women’s basketball game in W&L history. The sport arrived on campus during the 1993-94 season and has since recorded a 164-236 (.410) overall record. Four coaches have led the Generals over 16 seasons, including Terri Dadio Campbell (seven seasons, 69-100), Janet Hollack (two seasons, 20-30), Bryan Snyder (one season, 3-21) and Mandy King (six seasons, 72-85).

BUILDING A LIST
Sophomore guard Meg Ingram had a stellar first-year campaign, including collecting ODAC and South Region Rookie of the Year laurels in addition to Second Team All-ODAC honors. Ingram also added her name to the W&L record book during her initial season. She scored a career-high 31 points against the Apprentice School, the first time in six years that a W&L player had scored 30+ points.  She also tied the school record for three-pointers in a game twice (6) and set a school record with 75 three-point field goals.  Ingram finished the season ranked 11th in Division III with an average of 2.9 made three-point field goals per game.

EDITING THE RECORD BOOKS (Part un)
The team also left their mark in the W&L basketball record book last season. W&L recorded 90+ points in two ODAC games, including defeating Hollins on Dec. 1, 2008, 111-40, which set team records for points scored (111) and margin of victory (71).  Additionally, the 111-point total was tied for fifth in the  nation for points scored in a game.  Then on Jan. 9, Washington and Lee topped Lynchburg, 94-77.  The Generals’ 94 points is the second-highest scoring output in program history.  

EDITING THE RECORD BOOKS (Part deux)
Forward Rebecca Bolton dished out a career-high 11 assists during a 71-69 win over Eastern Mennonite, tying the school record.  Bolton then nearly completed a quadruple double in a 76-72 loss to Bridgewater when she notched 20 points, 15 rebounds, eight steals and six assists.  No W&L women’s basketball player has ever recorded a triple double.   

HOT HANDS
Junior center Felice Herman also registered a strong campaign last season.  Herman started every game and shot an ODAC-best .557 (122-219) from the floor.  She also averaged 10.2 points and a second-best 7.1 rebounds per contest. Additionally, she dropped in a career-high 20 points in a 71-69 victory over Eastern Mennonite and grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds in a 67-56 win over Guilford.  

EARN YOUR KEEP
Guards Kari Ann Pfannenstein and Meg Ingram, and forward Rebecca Bolton did their fair-share of scoring for the Generals during the 2008-09 campaign.  The trio of rookies accounted for 47.8 percent of the team’s offense. Additionally, the three were accountable for 39.8 percent shooting (290-728) from the floor and 74.8 percent from the foul line (163-218).  The combination of Ingram and Pfannenstein also shot a combined 35.9 percent from behind the arc (103-287).

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
The Generals’ seven ODAC losses last season were by a combined total of 49 points, or an average of 6.1 points per game.  Only two games were determined by double-digits (64-49 loss at VWC and 77-65 loss to Bridgewater in the ODAC Tournament) and five games were decided by four points or less.

DOWN THE STRETCH
The Generals found their stride down the stretch, winning nine of their final 13 contests to finish the season with a 14-12 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the ODAC. The 14 wins were just two shy of tying the school record, while the 13 ODAC victories bettered the program-record by two wins.  Despite being picked to finish ninth in the ODAC preseason coaches poll, W&L finished as the No. 5 seed, it’s highest ODAC Tournament seeding-ever.  The 2008-09 season also marked just the fourth winning season in 16 years of W&L women’s basketball, two of which have occurred under Head Coach Mandy King.  

--GENERALS--