Washington and Lee Continues Run into ODAC Finals

SALEM, Va. --- Third-seeded Washington and Lee closed the game with a 33-6 run to post a 62-47 win over seventh-seeded Eastern Mennonite in the semifinals of the ODAC Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Salem Civic Center.

The win advances the Generals to their first-ever ODAC Championship game and was their program-record 17th victory of the season (17-9).

W&L shot just 37.5 percent (9-24), committed 15 turnovers and was plagued by foul trouble in the opening 20 minutes, in falling behind 30-22 at the halftime break.

The Royals (16-10) upped their lead to as many as 12 points in the second stanza, leading 41-29 with 13:17 to play. However, the Generals began their run at that point as sophomore guard Meg Ingram (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale) and first-year forward Rachel Warrick (Herndon, Va./Langley) scored five points apiece to spark a 12-0 run that knotted the game at 41-41 with 9:57 remaining.

EMU regained the lead (44-41) when first-year guard Danielle Rittenhouse drilled a three-pointer on the next possession, but the Generals grabbed the lead back for good (46-44) at the 8:37 mark on a triple by junior guard Allie Long (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings). W&L proceeded to outscore Eastern Mennonite, 16-3, the rest of the way in pulling away for the 15-point win.

The Generals limited EMU to just 26.3 percent (5-19) shooting in the second half and forced 13 second-half turnovers by the Royals. Conversely, W&L committed just five turnovers and shot 48.4 percent (15-31) over the final 20 minutes of play.

Ingram scored a team-high 16 points for W&L, while Long contributed 12 points. Warrick tallied nine points and first-year guard Katy Wilson (Chattanooga, Tenn./Baylor) notched nine points and 10 boards. Sophomore forward Becca Bolton (Pittsboro, N.C./Chatham Central) chipped in eight points and 10 rebounds as well.

Senior guard Ebony Dennis paced Eastern Mennonite with 12 points and nine rebounds. Rittenhouse added 11 markers for the Royals.

The Generals will face fifth-seeded Virginia Wesleyan in the championship game at the Salem Civic Center on Sunday at 1:00 pm.

This release is courtesy of the Washington and Lee University sports information department.