LEXINGTON, Va. – Balanced scoring and efficient shooting proved key for the Washington and Lee women's basketball team in its 89-78 ODAC win over Roanoke on Tuesday night.
 
The Generals advance to 11-6 overall and 8-2 in the conference with their sixth consecutive win, one shy of tying the program record. The Maroons fall to 12-5 overall and 7-3 in league play with the loss.
 
The opening frame saw two high-octane offenses trading buckets throughout. However, a 5-0 W&L run at the heart of the quarter, as well as a 5-0 run to end the period, helped the Generals take a 25-21 lead into the second. The Maroons hung around in the second quarter, but the Generals continued to gradually increase their lead. The W&L lead reached seven points with 2:28 left in the half, but sophomore guard Megan Horn (Basking Ridge, N.J./The Pingry School) connected on a late three pointer in the final seconds to give the Generals a 47-37 advantage.
 
After the Maroons cut their deficit back to seven points, senior forward Andy Smithey (Charlotte, N.C./Saint Mary's School) fueled a 6-0 W&L run with a pair of buckets, pushing the lead to 56-43 at the 6:09 mark. Roanoke got the game back to eight points, but Horn hit on another late shot, this time a runner from beyond the arc as the buzzer sounded, as she banked in the attempt.
 
The fourth quarter saw 42 points combined, split evenly between the two sides, as W&L shot 9-of-19 to stave off the Maroons' comeback attempt.
 
Five Generals scored in double figures, led by 19 from Smithey, who shot 7-of-10 overall and pulled in six rebounds. Horn finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and a career-high tying three blocks, while junior guard Erin Hughes (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft School) tallied 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
 
Senior guard Taylor Casey (Brentwood, Tenn./Franklin Road Academy) added her named to another piece of W&L program history, connecting on two three pointers to become just the second player for the program to surpass 200 made triples (Meg Ingram '12, 260). Casey notched 12 points in the game, and sophomore guard Kate Groninger (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) totaled 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting overall.
 
For the Maroons, sophomore guard Renee Alquiza led the way with 16 points and added four rebounds, one block and two steals. First-year guard Morgan Micallef scored 14 points on 7-of-11 from the field, while sophomore guard Whitney Hopson added 12 points, five boards, two dimes and a steal.
 
The Generals shot 29-of-60 (.483) in the game, their second-highest percentage in a game this season (.484 at Bridgewater, 11/21), and also made 8-of-18 (.444) shots from beyond the arc. The Maroons finished 32-of-78 (.410) overall and made 8-of-24 (.333) shots from long range. W&L finished the game with advantages in points off turnovers (16-11), second-chance points (13-6) and points in the paint (40-38), while Roanoke led in bench points (35-23).
 
The Generals will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Eastern Mennonite for a 4:30 pm ODAC battle.