Generals Earn Automatic Bid into NCAA Tournament

SALEM, Va. --- The Washington and Lee women's basketball team claimed its first-ever conference title with a 64-56 victory over Virginia Wesleyan in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship game on Sunday afternoon at the Salem Civic Center.

The Generals will receive the ODAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament and will find out Sunday evening who their first round opponent will be.

W&L (18-9) jumped out to a nine point lead (13-4) in the opening 5:10 of the game, but was held scoreless for the next 7:58 as the Marlins (17-10) surged out to an 18-13 lead. First-year forward Katy Wilson (Chattanooga, Tenn./Baylor) ended the drought with a layup at the 6:52 mark of the first period and the Generals closed to within four points (27-23) on a three-pointer by sophomore Kari Ann Pfannenstein (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) with 1:11 left in the half. However, the Marlins ended the period with a 5-0 run for a 32-23 lead at the break.

The Generals opened the second half with a 9-0 run on a trio of buckets by junior center Felice Herman (Fairfield, Pa./Delone Catholic) and a three-pointer by Pfannenstein to knot the game at 32-32 with 15:21 remaining. The game then featured four ties and seven lead changes over the next 10:16, before W&L grabbed the lead for good, 50-49, on a layup by sophomore forward Becca Bolton (Pittsboro, N.C./Chatham Central) with 5:05 left in the game. W&L then drilled 10-of-11 free throws in the final 3:31 to pull away for their first win over the Marlins in three tries during the 2009-2010 season.

W&L shot 66.7 percent (12-18) from the field in the second half, while limiting Virginia Wesleyan to 25.8 percent (8-31) shooting. The Generals also held a 40-30 advantage on the boards and drilled 17-of-21 (.810) free throw attempts.

Bolton led W&L with 14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Wilson notched 13 points and 10 rebounds. Herman tallied 12 points and sophomore guard Meg Ingram and Pfannenstein chipped in nine points each.  Ingram was named the Tournament MVP, while Bolton and Wilson were also named to the all-tournament team.

Senior guard Tonia Jones led the Marlins with 13 points, while junior guard Kristina Jameson tallied 12 points. Sophomore forward Kristen Blalock added 11 points and seven rebounds.  Jones and senior forward Maggie Davis were named to the all-tournament team for Virginia Wesleyan.

2010 Women's All-Tournament Team

Meg Ingram, MOP, Washington and Lee
Becca Bolton, Washington and Lee
Katy Wilson, Washington and Lee
Maggie Davis, Virginia Wesleyan
Tonia Jones, Virginia Wesleyan

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