Washington and Lee University
W&L VS. RANDOLPH-MACON: The Yellow Jackets own a 27-4 advantage in the all-time series and have won the past 14 meetings. R-MC has not lost to the Generals since a 76-71 double-overtime contest on Dec. 1, 2001 in Lexington, Va., and W&L has never won in Ashland, Va.
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS: R-MC (11-1, 6-1 ODAC) dropped its first contest of the season, falling to Virginia Wesleyan, 48-43, on Saturday. Against the Marlins, the Yellow Jackets shot just 16.7 percent (5-30) in the first half and 26.7 percent for the game (16-60). Junior guard Amanda Hiltunen and junior forward Lindsay Riesbeck each totaled 11 points in the loss. On the season, sophomore center Molly Ariail leads R-MC in scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg). Riesbeck is averaging 13.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest, while Hiltunen is posting 13.2 points and 3.4 assists per outing.
LAST MEETING WITH R-MC (11/30/07): Sophomore center Molly Ariail paced four Randolph-Macon players in double-figures with 17 points as R-MC defeated Washington and Lee, 81-57, at the Warner Center. Randolph-Macon connected on 54.5 percent (18-33) of its first-half shots and led by as many as 18 points (23-5 at 10:53; 25-7 at 9:04) in the first half. After taking a 40-26 lead into the break, the Yellow Jackets held the Generals to just one field goal in the opening 10:22 of the second half and cruised to the 24-point victory. R-MC shot 52.5 percent (32-61) for the game and forced 22 W&L turnovers. Ariail shot 8-for-14 from the floor en route to her 17 markers. Senior guard Jess Shifflett notched 14 points, while junior guard Amanda Hiltunen totaled 11 points. Junior forward Lindsay Riesbeck added 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Junior guard Bethany Ridenhour scored a then season-high 16 points for W&L to go along with four steals, while freshman guard Allie Long registered 11 points.
W&L VS. BRIDGEWATER: This is the 28th meeting between the Eagles and the Generals, with BC holding a 22-5 advantage in the all-time series. The Generals have won the two most recent contests. Earlier this season, W&L defeated the Eagles, 54-47, on January 5th.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Bridgewater (7-6, 5-4 ODAC) has won two-straight contests, downing Emory & Henry, 71-56, on Friday and Guilford, 77-68, on Saturday. The Eagles play at Eastern Mennonite on Tuesday, before they host the Generals on Saturday. On the season, freshman forward Jordan Burkholder leads the Eagles with 15.0 points per game. Sophomore forward Nikki Sydnor averages a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game, while senior guard Jessica Timberlake is registering 8.9 points and 2.5 assists per contest.
LAST MEETING WITH BC (1/5/08): Washington and Lee erased a 13-point second-half deficit in posting a 54-47 victory over Bridgewater at the Warner Center. The Generals struggled offensively in the first half and Bridgewater used a 16-2 run midway through the stanza en route to owning a 26-17 lead at the break. The Eagles extended their lead to 13 (34-21) with 14:58 to play in the contest and had a 10-point edge (42-32) with 9:24 remaining. However, W&L held BC to just two field goals the rest of way, using a decisive 22-5 run to claim the victory. W&L held a 41-33 advantage on the boards and forced 27 Bridgewater turnovers. Sophomore center Kaitlyn Kamp paced the Generals with 13 points and eight rebounds. Kamp shot 6-of-9 from the floor and scored 11 points during the game-deciding run. Senior forward Amanda Kane totaled 12 points and six boards, while freshman guard Allie Long tallied eight points, a career-high six assists and six steals. Bridgewater was led by sophomore guard Kristin Bosserman’s 12 points and freshman forward Jordan Burkholder, who totaled 10 markers.
UP NEXT: The Generals return home next week as they square off against Guilford (1/29) and Emory & Henry (2/5) for the first time this season.
LAST TIME OUT: Freshman forward Michelle Brockman tallied a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds as Randolph College snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 70-50 come-from-behind victory over Washington and Lee on Saturday afternoon at the Warner Center. The Generals led by as many as 14 points (24-10) in the first half, but the WildCats used a 16-4 spurt over the final 7:01 of the first period to cut the W&L lead to two points, 28-26, at the break. The contest was tied five times in the opening minutes of the second half until a Brockman lay-up gave Randolph the lead for good (47-46) with 9:03 remaining. The WildCats then closed out the game with a 23-3 run to secure the victory. Randolph shot 48.3 percent (14-29) from the floor in the second stanza and 42.9 percent (24-56) in the game, compared to W&L’s 28.6 percent (18-63) performance. W&L was led by senior forward Kristen Krouchick’s 13 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Emily Wolff dropped in 11 markers, while senior forward Amanda Kane added 10 points.
KING OF THE GENERALS: Mandy King (Southern Maine ’98) is in her fifth season as head women’s basketball coach at W&L and has a career record of 53-65 (.449). King is assisted by Kristen McCandless (TCNJ ’03), who is in her third season.
THE COMEBACK KIDS: The Generals have posted two exciting come-from-behind wins thus far this season. In a 61-57 win over Roanoke, the Blue and White rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to post a four-point victory. The win was the largest second-half comeback for the Generals since a similar 14-point deficit against Guilford during the 1998-99 campaign. In that contest, W&L trailed the Quakers 42-28 at halftime, were down by double-figures until 5:49 was left and did not tie the contest until 1:32 remained. The Generals also posted a second thrilling come-from-behind win this season as they used a 22-5 run to erase a 13-point second-half Bridgewater lead and emerge with a 54-47 win over the Eagles on Jan. 5.
FREE THROW WOES: The Generals have not been taking advantage of their opportunities from the foul line this season. They are averaging 59.5 percent (128-215) from the line, compared to their opponents’ 71.3 percent shooting (164-230). Also, W&L has hit just 48.5 percent (16-33) of its attempts in the final five minutes and overtime. Freshman guard Allie Long leads the team, shooting 73.3 percent (11-15) from the line, and is the only General averaging over 70 percent.
KEEP ‘EM UNDER 60: Sixty is a magic number for W&L, at least where the defense is concerned. The Generals are 4-2 this season when holding teams to less than 60 points. Also, W&L is 15-3 over the last two seasons when holding the opponent to less than 60 points.
EDITING THE RECORD BOOKS: Senior Kristen Krouchick has made quite an impact on the all-time records at W&L. She recently moved into the fifth all-time scoring spot, owning 1,188 career points. She needs 78 points to overtake Megan Babst ‘02 (1,265) and move into the fourth spot. Krouchick’s career shooting percentage (.448, 490-1093) also ranks third all-time at W&L.
“HURRIKANE” AMANDA: An athletic and physical player, senior forward Amanda Kane can be a devastating player for opponents to guard as she can score from all areas of the floor -- from the perimeter to the paint. So far this season, Kane is posting a second-best 9.2 ppg and 5.3 rpg. She has scored in double-figures in seven games, including a season-high 14 points against Newport News Apprentice. She also hit 2-of-3 foul shots in the final 13 seconds against Roanoke to give the Generals a four-point lead and secure the win.
CASTING A LONG SHADOW: Though just a freshman, guard Allie Long has already made a significant impact on the season. Long was an integral part of the Generals’ comeback at Roanoke, scoring nine of her career-high 13 points during the game-deciding 19-2 run. She also leads W&L with 2.7 assists per contests (11th in the ODAC) and is shooting a team-best 73.3 percent from the foul line (11-15).
TAKING CENTER STAGE: Sophomore center Kaitlyn Kamp showed that she’s ready for the limelight during her second season. She has posted double-figures in scoring four times and tallied her second career double-double (10 pts/12 rbs) in a 52-38 loss to Virginia Wesleyan on Jan. 8. Kamp tied her career high with 15 points in a 62-59 win over Mary Baldwin on Nov. 28. She also played an pivotal role in the Generals’ come-from-behind 54-47 win over Bridgewater on Jan. 5 with 13 points along and eight rebounds. This season, Kamp is averaging 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and she is shooting a team-best 57.9 percent (33-57) from the floor.
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