W&L Women's Basketball Game Notes - Week 7

W&L at VIRGINIA WESLEYAN - January 3, 7:00 pm
W&L at ROANOKE - January 6, 7:00 pm
W&L at BRIDGEWATER - January 7, 3:00 pm

PDF Version of Notes here.

THE HEAD GENERAL
Mandy King (Southern Maine '98) is in her ninth season as the head coach at Washington and Lee.  King is W&L's all-time wins leader with a career record of 112-108 (.509).  She has led W&L to school-record win totals four times in her nine seasons, including a program-best 19-8 mark last season.  Over the last four seasons, King has guided the Generals to a 54-35 (.607) overall record, culminating in the 2009-10 team winning the program's first-ever conference title.

ALL-TIME RECORD
The Washington and Lee women's basketball program is participating in its 19th varsity season during the 2011-12 school year.  Over that period of time, the Generals have compiled a 204-259 (.441) overall record.

LAST TIME OUT
(Ferrum 72, W&L 58 • Ferrum, Va. • 12/30/11)
Ferrum shot 59.3 percent from the field (16-27), including 71.4 percent (5-7) from behind the arc, in the second half to pull away for a 72-58 win over Washington and Lee. After playing to a 26-26 draw in the first half, Ferrum (7-1) outscored W&L (3-5) 13-6 over the first 4:14 in the second stanza to assume a 39-32 lead on a pair Katy Kipps free throws with 15:46 to play. W&L trimmed its deficit to two points (39-37) on a free throw by junior forward Rachel Warrick with 13:01 to play before FC pushed out to an eight point lead (47-39) at the 10:57 mark. The Generals battled back to within three points (47-44) on a triple by senior guard Kari Ann Pfannenstein with 8:26 on the clock before the Panthers used a game-clinching 14-5 run to assume a 12 point lead (61-49) on two more Kipps free throws with 4:25 to play. During the run, the Panthers made good on all five of their shots from the field and forced a pair of turnovers limiting W&L to 1-of-3 shooting from the field. Despite missing its first five shots, W&L only trailed 4-3 after a Pfannenstein three pointer at 16:38. With the score tied 6-6, Ferrum did not miss its next five baskets to go on a 13-4 run to take a 19-10 lead, only to then miss four consecutive shots and commit six turnovers in the next 6:16 of play. Those mistakes, along with three triples and a layup by W&L senior guard Meg Ingram, allowed the Generals to rattle off a 16-2 scoring run and turn the scoreboard in their favor (26-21) with 3:52 left in the half. Ferrum fought back as the Panthers brought the score even at 26-26 by halftime, and continued their 18-6 scoring run to claim the aforementioned 39-32 lead in rout to the win. For the Generals, Ingram netted a game-high 23 points on 5-of-11 shooting from behind the arc. Warrick added 10 points, and senior forward Becca Bolton chipped in eight points and five rebounds.

SCOUNTING THE MARLINS
W&L will be facing VWC for the 39th time, with the Marlins holding a 24-14 advantage over the Generals. VWC enters this week's contest with a 7-2 overall record and an unmatched 4-0 record in the ODAC, returning to the court after losing to Messiah, 68-49, before the holiday break. Before that loss, the Marlins were on a five-game win streak, including three victories on the road. Against Messiah, two VWC reserve players ended the game with double-digit points as first year guard Sarah Seipp netted a team-high 13 points, and went 2-of-4  from behind the arc. First year guard Brittany Glasco added 10 points and grabbed five rebounds, and senior forward Jocelyn Spencer also recorded 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Messiah held VWC to only 29.5 percent from the field (18-61) for the game. Senior center Kristen Blalock is the current team leader with 13.8 ppg and 6.2 rpg. As a team, the Marlins are shooting 36.6 percent from the field and averaging 68.4 points per game.
 
ASSESSING THE MAROONS
W&L will be facing Roanoke for the 35th meeting, with the Maroons holding a commanding 30-4 lead in the all-time series. All four victories by the Generals have come under head coach Mandy King. RC is entering this week's game with a 1-6 overall record (1-2 ODAC) after a 60-51 loss to Averett to close out 2011. Senior center Nicci Moats netted 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and posted five blocks. Sophomore guard Paxton Gwin registered 14 points and First year guard Taylor Duggins scored 10 points including a 2-of-3 effort from behind the arc. The Maroons held Averett to 29.3 percent shooting in the first half, but suffered shooting the ball themselves in the second half, as they sank only 25.9 percent (7-27) of their shots. Gwin leads the team with 13.9 ppg and 7.1 rpg.

CHECKING OUT THE EAGLES
W&L will be facing Bridgewater for the 36th time, with the Eagles holding the 27-8 advantage in the all-time series. BC currently holds a 4-3 overall record and a 2-2 ODAC mark after an 80-63 victory over Southern Virginia to end its 2011 campaign. The Eagles shot an impressive 55.6 percent from the field (30-54) led by junior guard Jessica Mullen, who recorded 34 points on 14-of-22 shooting. Senior guard Jenny Logan netted 13 points, including a flawless 6-for-6 from the foul line, and posted a game-high nine assists, while adding six rebounds. BC held SVU to 28.9 percent shooting (22-76). On the season, Mullen leads with 17.1 ppg and the team is making just 40.9 percent of their field goal attempts (97-245). First year center Shannon Thorne averages 9.1 rpg and 8.9 ppg.


GET 'EM BELOW 40
The Generals struggle against opponents who shoot better than 40.0 percent against them, with their record at 0-5. When W&L is able to hold the opposing team to below 40.0 percent it is a perfect 3-0. The Blue and White were most successful against FDU-Floram, keeping the Devils' shooting percentage to 34.8 percent (23-66).

TAKE THAT CHARITY
The Generals are more than willing to accept a handout whenever it involves heading to the charity stripe.  Last season, W&L ranked second in the conference and 35th nationally with a .741 team free throw percentage.  After connecting only on 5-of-10 attempts from the line against Hollins, the Generals bounced back to miss only four of their 19 attempts against Christopher Newport. In the loss to Ferrum, W&L missed more shots from the line than it actually made, 8-of-18, creating the worst percentage in a single game this season (44.4 percent). Despite that performance, the Generals are ranked second in the ODAC in free throw percentage at 67.3 percent (101-150).

THE MILLENNUM CLUB
Nine players currently reside in the school's millennium club for having scored 1,000 points in a career.  The Generals' current squad claims two members of this exclusive club.  Senior guard Meg Ingram ranks fifth on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,273  points and senior forward Becca Bolton is seventh with 1,166 points.  They are the first pair of teammates in program history to enter their senior season already having reached the milestone.

GIVE IT UP ALREADY
In its first eight games, W&L has turned the ball over 132 times, 19 more than it has caused for opponents this season. With 16.5 turnovers per game, the Generals are averaging only three more made shots each contest (19.8 shots per game) than losing possession of the ball.

HOME COURT DISADVANTAGE
Washington and Lee is becoming victim to its own court as the Generals have begun the season at 1-3 at the Warner Center. The statistics have suffered as W&L has recorded a 35.8 percent mark from the field  at home (82-229) and committed an average of 16 turnovers over the four games. The Generals return home on January 10 to play Eastern Mennonite in conference action after on the road for almost a month.

SENIOR SUCCESS
The Generals' senior class comprises 3/5 of the starting lineup and nearly half of the team's roster for the 2011-12 season.  However, the class' contributions are far more reaching that that of just this year's team.  They have helped to make a program.  Guards Meg Ingram, Kari Ann Pfannenstein and Allison Sublett, along with forward Becca Bolton, have helped lead the Generals to three-straight winning seasons and a 53-34 record over their careers.  All told, they have combined to score 3,077 points and grab 1,289 rebounds, which accounts for over 52 percent of all the scoring and 40 percent of all the rebounding during their time with the squad.  More importantly, they have twice raised the program record for wins in a season and claimed the first conference title in school history.  They can graduate as the winningest class in program history with nine more wins.  The 2011 class of Allie Long and Felice Herman currently hold the record with a 60-50 career record.

THE LEADING GENERALS
Five different Generals reside in the Top-five in eight different ODAC statistical categories. Senior forward Becca Bolton finds herself among the leaders in four categories including leading the way with 9.6 rpg, 47 defensive rebounds, and 77 total boards, while also holding third in free throws made (39). Junior forward Katy Wilson is right with Bolton as she has taken the top spot in offensive rebounds (33), owns second place in total rebounds (71), and is fourth with 8.9 rebounds per game. Senior guard Meg Ingram sits at second in three-pointers made with 18, and senior guard Kari Ann Pfrannenstein is fourth in three pointers made (15) and total blocks (8). Junior forward Rachel Warrick is  fourth in free throw percentage at 84.2 percent on 16-of-19 shooting.

--GENERALS--