LEXINGTON, Va. --- First-year guard Taylor Casey scored a career-high 32 points to lead the seventh-seeded Washington and Lee women's basketball team to an 88-79 win over 10th-seeded Roanoke in the first round of the ODAC Tournament on Tuesday at the Warner Center.

W&L (12-13) took control of the contest early on with a 13-0 run in the first quarter that gave the Generals an 11-point lead (18-7) with 2:27 left in the first half.  Junior guard Emily Perszyk scored the first six points of the surge, keying the run for the Blue & White.

Roanoke (10-16) methodically cut into the W&L advantage, slicing its deficit to just two points (34-32) following a free throw by Allison Livengood with 1:19 left in the half.  Casey and Perszyk each made a field goal for the Generals, before junior guard Allison Yeaw hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for the Maroons that made it a 38-35 game at the intermission.

The Blue & White truly pulled away in the third period, outscoring the Maroons 29-12 in the frame.  The Generals began the quarter with an 8-1 run that pushed the lead back to double-digits (46-36) just 1:38 into the period.  Casey scored five points during the stretch and finished with nine points overall in the third quarter.

A sixth three-pointer by Casey with 9:06 left in the fourth quarter pushed the W&L lead to 21 points (70-49) and the Maroons could get no closer than a nine-point deficit the rest of the way.

W&L was proficient on offense, shooting 47.6 percent (30-63) from the floor, 50.0 percent (8-16) from three and 20-of-26 (.769) from the foul line.  The Generals also committed just 12 turnovers.

Casey went 11-of-15 from the field, 6-of-9 from three and 4-for-4 from the foul line in posting her career-best total. It also marked the most points scored by a W&L player in the ODAC Tournament. Perszyk added 21 points, while senior guard Jackie Clifford tallied 17 points and six rebounds.  Junior forward Emma Redding chipped in 15 points and seven boards as well.

Senior forward Cary Beahm led the Maroons with 21 points and nine rebounds.  Senior guard Bridget Holleran totaled 18 points and 10 rebounds, and first-year guard Chris Martin added 14 points.

Washington and Lee returns to action on Friday at 6:00 pm when it takes on second-seeded Guilford in the quarterfinals of the ODAC Tournament.