W&L Women's Basketball Notes - Week 13

GAME 23: W&L (8-14, 5-9 ODAC) at Randolph (4-18, 2-12 ODAC)
DATE: Wednesday, February 13, 2013
LOCATION: Lynchburg, Va.
TIME: 7:00 pm

GAME 24: W&L vs. Shenandoah (10-13, 6-8 ODAC)
DATE: Saturday, February 16, 2013
LOCATION: Lexington, Va.
TIME: 4:00 pm

PDF version of notes here.

THE HEAD GENERAL
Christine Clancy (Brandeis  '06) is in her first season as the head coach at Washington and Lee after serving as the assistant coach last year. Before W&L, Clancy spent three years at Colby College, serving as an interim head coach in her final season. As head coach of the Mules, Clancy guided the team to a 22-6 overall record and an NCAA Tournament berth where they advanced to the second round. Clancy holds an 8-14 (.364) overall record at the helm of the Generals.

ALL-TIME RECORD
The Washington and Lee women's basketball program is participating in its 20th varsity season during the 2012-13 school year.  Over that period of time, the Generals have compiled a 223-281 (.442) overall record and have won one Old Dominion Athletic Conference title (2010).

LAST TIME OUT
(HU 64, W&L 56 • Lexington, Va. • 2/9/13)
Hollins University used a 14-3 run midway through the second half to pull away for a 64-56 win over Washington and Lee in ODAC women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at the Warner Center. The game was nip-and-tuck for the first 30 minutes, featuring 14 ties and four lead changes before HU's run gave it the game's largest lead with 7:27 remaining. The Generals held a 46-43 lead with 11:06 left after a three-pointer by first-year guard Paige Corvino. Hollins senior guard Lacie Forrest matched the triple with one of her own 18 seconds later to begin the decisive run.  Forrest followed her three-pointer with a jumper the next time down the floor for a 48-46 lead and sophomore forward Lauren Hays hit a jumper to extend the lead to 50-46. W&L first-year forward Shelbi Hendricks nailed a triple of her own to cut the HU lead back to one point (50-49), but Forrest canned another three-pointer and added a jumper at the 7:27 mark to cap the run and give Hollins a 57-49 lead. The Generals trimmed their deficit to three points (59-56) following a jumper by senior guard Megan Marks with 1:41 left but could get no closer as HU claimed its fourth straight win over W&L. As a team, the Generals shot just 32.8 percent (21-64) from the floor and were out-rebounded, 48-28.  Senior forward Katy Wilson led W&L with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Warrick added 13 points.  Marks chipped in 11 points and Hendricks posted nine points. Hollins shot 46.6 percent (27-58) from the floor and claimed 16 offensive rebounds leading to 16 second-chance points. Forrest finished with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds. Junior forward Chanci Wright notched 10 points and 17 boards, and first-year forward Alexa Smith recorded 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

THE RANDOLPH SERIES
W&L and Randolph will meet for the 40th time, with the Generals holding a commanding 30-9 advantage in the all-time series. The Blue and White is currently on a 10-game winning streak over the WildCats that includes a 55-54 win at the Warner Center earlier this season. The last time the Generals lost to Randolph on the road was on January 15, 2006, when they dropped a 77-69 decision.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE WILDCATS
(W&L 55, Randolph 54 • Lexington, Va. • 1/15/13)
Senior forward Katy Wilson hit a game-winning free throw with 3.5 seconds left in the game to push Washington and Lee to a 55-54 win over Randolph at the Warner Center. After the Generals cut a nine-point deficit (54-45) to three by the 2:55 mark, first-year forward Shelbi Hendricks recorded a three-point play to tie the game at 54-54 with 1:26 on the clock. Neither team could break the tie until a foul by WildCat junior guard Emilee Dunton sent Wilson to the line and led to the game-winning free throw. W&L opened the second half with a jumper by Hendricks for a four-point advantage (30-26) just 35 seconds into the period. Randolph fought back with consecutive buckets to take a 31-30 lead by the 16:53 mark. The Blue and White answered with a trey by senior guard Megan Marks to pull back ahead, 33-31, only to have first-year guard Abigail Bullins answer with a jumper at 16:23 to tie the contest at 33-33. The Generals controlled the next 5:44 of action as they held a steady lead until 8:51 when the WildCats took a 43-42 lead off a jumper by sophomore forward Allie Druffel. A free throw by Wilson tied the game at 43-43 with 8:00 left to play, but Randolph went on an 11-2 run over the next 3:18 to pull ahead and claim the aforementioned nine-point lead at 4:42. The teams went back and forth to start the game and were deadlocked at 6-6 by the 15:34 mark. W&L then went on a 12-4 stretch to give it an 18-10 lead at 12:50. Randolph continued to stay in the game, scoring the next nine points and holding the Generals scoreless for eight minutes to take a 19-18 advantage with 6:18 left in the half. W&L regained the lead and stretched it to five by the 2:12 mark as Marks connected on a layup. After back-to-back shots by Randolph, the score was again tied, 26-26, with 1:26 to go. Neither team scored again until senior forward Rachel Warrick landed two free throws to push the Generals' lead to two (28-26) at the break. For the game, the WildCats shot 38.2 percent (21-55) from the field, while holding W&L to 33.3 percent (20-60) from the floor and 21.4 percent (3-14) from long range. Hendricks paced the Blue and White with her first career double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds, while adding three assists and two steals. Marks notched 10 points and four boards, and Wilson collected 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocks. For the WildCats, Dunton led the scoring with a game-high 20 points. Sophomore forward Jensen Hoover tallied nine points and nine boards, and Druffel added six points, five rebounds and three steals.

SCOUTING RANDOLPH
Randolph is entering the week with a 4-18 overall record and a 2-12 ODAC mark after defeating Shenandoah, 76-64, on Saturday. The WildCats shot just 33.8 percent (22-65) from the field, but netted 10 three-pointers and 22 free throws to take the victory. First-year guard Abigail Bullins led all scoring with 20 points, and added five assists and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Chelsea Tyler registered 16 points, five helpers and four steals and junior guard Emilee Dunton notched 13 points, seven boards and seven assists. On the year, Dunton is averaging a team-best 9.9 ppg and 3.3 apg. Bullins is tallying 7.8 ppg and sophomore forward Jensen Hoover is recording 6.1 ppg and 6.0 rpg.

THE SHENANDOAH SERIES
W&L and Shenandoah will face off for the seventh time, with the Hornets claiming a 5-1 lead in the all-time series. Earlier this season, the Generals traveled to Winchester, losing a 52-43 contest. W&L's only win over SU came on February 3, 2002 at the Warner Center.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE HORNETS
(SU 52, W&L 43 • Winchester, Va. • 1/19/13)
Shenandoah jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the opening 8:20 of the game and never trailed in claiming a 52-43 win over Washington and Lee in ODAC women's basketball action in Shingleton Gym. The Generals shot just 28.6 percent (6-21) in the opening 20 minutes and trailed by nine points (26-17) at the halftime break. W&L closed to within six points at 35-29 with 12:20 left in the game as sophomore guard Annie Gauf hit 1-of-2 free throws, but the Hornets responded with an 8-1 run over the next 4:24 to take a 43-30 lead with 7:56 remaining. The Generals cut it back to seven points (45-38) on a pair of free throws by first-year guard Paige Corvino with 2:43 left but could get no closer as the Hornets claimed their fifth win in six all-time meetings with W&L. For the game, Washington and Lee shot just 33.3 percent (14-42) from the field and committed 20 turnovers.  Senior forward Rachel Warrick scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed six rebounds. Senior forward Katy Wilson added 10 points and nine boards, while Corvino totaled nine points. Shenandoah, which shot just 32.1 percent (18-56) from the floor but committed only 11 turnovers, was led by junior guard Sara D'Amico's 13 points. Senior forward Nicole Gilbertson added 10 points and eight rebounds.

SCOUTING SHENANDOAH
Shenandoah enters this week 10-13 overall and 6-8 in conference play following a 76-64 loss to Randolph on Saturday. SU shot 38.3 percent (23-60) from the floor, but committed 18 turnovers and 23 fouls to send the WildCats to the foul line 33 times, and scoring 22 points. Senior forward Nicole Gilbertson paced the Hornets with 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Junior guard Crystal Petrus collected 12 points and two assists, while sophomore forward Gabrielle Clark recorded eight points, six boards and three steals. For the season, SU is allowing opponents to score 59.4 ppg and shoot 38.0 percent (443-1288) from the floor. Sophomore foward Holly Chittenden is averaging 10.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg and 2.1 apg, and Gilbertson is adding 9.1 ppg and 7.9 rpg.

HITTING THE BOOKS
The classroom isn't the only place senior forwards Rachel Warrick and Katy Wilson have been reaching for the books, as they have also made a dent in the W&L record books during their four seasons here. Combined, the two captains are present on five of W&L's Top 10 career lists. Wilson's 45.0 percent (386-858) mark from the field puts her fourth for career field goal percentage, and she is also fifth in career rebounds (789), tied for seventh in career blocked shots (68) and 10th in career points (951). Warrick sits eighth for career free throw percentage, shooting 75.0 percent (174-232) from the foul line.

HIT US WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
Washington and Lee has done a fantastic job of defending the three-point arc this season, allowing its opponents to shoot just 22.3 percent (67-300) from beyond the arc to lead the league and sit 13th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense. In a 61-39 win over Chatham, the Generals held the Cougars without a three-pointer made in nine attempts. Southside Virginia Community College shot just 1-for-14 (.071) from long range and Johns Hopkins hit just 2-of-15 (.133). Shenandoah, Eastern Mennonite and Roanoke were all held to two made three-pointers and most recently, Lynchburg went just 1-for-10 from behind the arc (.100).

WATCH OUT FOR WILSON
Senior forward Katy Wilson has played an important role in W&L's success this season, averaging a team-best 10.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.9 spg and 1.0 bpg. Wilson has recorded a double-double four times this year and has netted double-digit points in 13 contests, including a season-high 21 points against Roanoke on November 15. She is also ranked in the top eight in four of the ODAC's statistical rankings. Wilson is sitting fifth in the league in offensive rebounds (3.0 rpg), sixth in total rebounds (8.1 rpg) and defensive rebounds (5.1 rpg), and seventh in blocks (1.0 bpg).

SENIOR DAY SPECIAL
In celebration of Senior Day during Saturday's loss to Hollins, the three seniors, guard Megan Marks, and forwards Rachel Warrick and Katy Wilson, each scored double-figure points. The trio tallied 40 points to make up 71.4 percent of the team's 56 total points, and also added 12 rebounds, eight steals and four assists. Wilson led W&L with 16 points, while Warrick knocked down 13 and Marks notched 11 points.

BOTTOMING OUT THE RANKINGS
The Generals have struggled all season on the offensive end, averaging just 50.8 ppg while shooting 35.3 percent (436-1236) from the field to sit 12th and 10th in the ODAC, respectively. W&L's matchups this week will be against two more poor shooters in Randolph and Shenandoah. The WildCats are 10th in the league in scoring offense with 58.6 ppg and last in field goal percentage, recording 33.8 percent (452-1337) from the floor. SU is ranked 11th in both categories, notching 56.5 ppg on 34.4 percent (443-1288) from the field.

SEEING DOUBLE
Senior forward Rachel Warrick has been on a scoring frenzy as of late, netting double-digit points in nine straight contests. The streak started during the Generals' first game against Shenandoah on January 19, when she scored a game-high 16 points. Since then, Warrick has averaged 15.2 ppg that included a career-high 21-point performance at Randolph-Macon. She is shooting 38.9 percent (56-144) from the floor and has gone 24-for-35 (.686) from the free throw line in W&L's last nine outings. On the season, Warrick is tallying 10.3 ppg.

SEEDING IN THE TOURNAMENT
With all 12 teams making the ODAC Tournament this season, the Generals are looking for a chance to host a play-in game by finishing the season in the top eight of the conference. Currently, W&L sits in seventh place with Roanoke, holding a 5-9 record in ODAC action. Two more regular-season contests are left on the Blue and White's slate, and depending on other teams' performances, the Generals could finish the year in as high as sixth place, but no lower than 11th place.

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