Washington and Lee University
FOR STARTERS: This is the seventh meeting between Mary Washington and Washington and Lee, with the Eagles holding a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams met twice in the 2005-06 season, with UMW winning both of those outings, but the Generals won, 55-50, on Jan. 19, 2004.
HOME SWEET HOME: The contest with Mary Washington is the Generals’ first contest in the confines of the Warner Center. W&L is 3-1 in home-opening games during head coach Mandy King’s reign and also has a 29-18 (.617) mark at home during her tenure.
LAST MEETING WITH MARY WASH (11/22/05): W&L’s Jessica Hunsinger posted a double-double (22 pts/15 rbs), but it was Mary Washington that came away with a 61-53 victory. UMW led 9-4 with 13:23 left in the first half, but the Generals went on a 13-3 spurt over the next 4:01 to take a 17-12 lead. The Eagles regained the lead at 19-17 on a three-pointer by Jenn Olinger at the 7:41 mark and extended their advantage to 11 points (30-19) before heading into halftime with a 30-22 edge. W&L opened up the second half on a 13-9 run to pull to within four points (39-35) with 12:10 remaining. However, UMW extended its advantage to 13 points (56-43) with 4:40 left. The Generals crept back to within six points (59-53) on a three-pointer by forward Hayley James with 23 seconds left, but they wouldn’t get any closer. Hunsinger was aided by forward Kristen Krouchick’s 10 points and seven boards. James finished with 10 rebounds and three assists to go with her six points. The Eagles were led by guard Sarah Flanagan’s 11 points and seven rebounds. Center Liz Hickey added 10 rebounds and 12 blocks.
UP NEXT: Following Thanksgiving, the Generals travel to Mary Baldwin on Tuesday, before opening their ODAC schedule with Randolph-Macon on Nov. 30 and Virginia Wesleyan on Dec. 1.
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 49-58 (.467). King is assisted by Kristen McCandless (TCNJ ’03), who is in her third season.
THIS JUST IN: The Generals dropped both of its contests over the weekend at the Terry Greene Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Franklin & Marshall. They opened their season with a 76-66 loss to Alvernia on Saturday and then fell in overtime, 73-64, to Goucher on Sunday. In the loss to Alvernia, W&L was paced by senior guard Emily Wolff, who tallied a team-high 13 points, connecting on all five attempts from the charity stripe. Senior forward Kristen Krouchick posted a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 boards, while senior forward Amanda Kane added 10 points. In the loss to Goucher, W&L was paced junior guard Bethany Ridenhour, who scored 16 points, and Krouchick’s 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Mary Washington is coming off a 31-3 season and a third-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships in 2006-07. The No. 1 team in the nation, the Eagles opened their season with wins over Ursinus (74-46) and fellow ODAC member Virginia Wesleyan (75-51). Over those two games, the Eagles had four players averaging double-digits in scoring -- junior guard Katy Larson (14.5 ppg), junior forward Ashton Mitchell (14.5 ppg), senior forward Lisa Tracy (11.0 ppg) and senior forward Leigh Kampman (10.0 ppg). Preseason d3hoops.com All-America pick Liz Hickey is also averaging close to a double-double this season with 9.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per contest.
W&L vs. No. 1: Today’s match-up with a top-ranked team marks the first time since 2001-02 that the Generals have played the nation’s top team. In 2001, the Generals opened the season with a 75-54 loss to defending National Champion Washington University in St. Louis.
THE FOUR MUSKETEERS: This year’s roster features four seniors -- guard Emily Wolff, and forwards Hayley James, Amanda Kane and Kristen Krouchick -- something that hasn’t happened at W&L since the 2001-02 season. Over their first three seasons, these seniors have helped lead the Generals to a 40-39 overall record (.506) -- the best record over a three-season span in program history. These seniors also represent over 47 percent of the Generals’ scoring and 40 percent of their rebounding from last season.
WHAT ELSE IS BACK: W&L also returns three juniors and one sophomore from last season’s 16-11 record-setting campaign. Back for the Generals are juniors Casidhe Horan (0.6 ppg, 0.3 rpg), Kara Nadeau (6.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Bethany Ridenhour (9.0 ppg, 2.5 apg), and sophomore center Kaitlyn Kamp (3.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg).
WHAT’S MISSING: The Generals lost two starters in senior guard Sarah Otey and All-ODAC center Jessica Hunsinger. Otey played in 26 contests with 21 starts and recorded 2.8 points per game, along with 2.1 assists per contest. Hunsinger graduated as the ODAC’s all-time leading rebounder (1,046). She also ranks second at W&L with 1,455 career points. In 2006-07, she totaled 12.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest and ranked fourth in the Division III at the completion of the season with nearly 3.7 blocks per outing. Hunsinger also owns the program record for blocks in a season (100) and career (263) and changed her own game-record for blocks on two occasions with nine.
NEW FACES: W&L welcomes four freshmen to its roster this season -- centers Alex Harper and Felice Herman, and guards Lauren Bohdan and Allie Long. Harper was a four-year letterwinner at Chantilly and earned third-team all-district honors as a sophomore, while Herman led Delone Catholic to three state championships. Bohdan led Voorhees to a 23-3 record as senior and Long was an all-league and an all-section pick while at Hastings.
WELL-ROUNDED GAME: There is a reason senior Kristen Krouchick is listed as a guard slash forward -- she plays both positions and both ends of the floor equally well. In 2006-07, she was first on the squad in points (13.2 ppg), second in rebounds (6.8 rpg), tallied five double-doubles and recorded three 20+-point games. She also scored in double-figures in all but seven games. Entering her senior year, she owns 1,077 career points (seventh all-time at W&L), 432 rebounds, 126 steals and 152 assists. This season, she is nearly averaging a double-double with 13.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest. In the loss to Alvernia, she tallied her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
WORTH A WOLFF-WHISTLE: Over the past three seasons, senior guard Emily Wolff has steadily built a career that is deserving of some notice. An offensive and defensive threat, Wolff averaged 8.5 ppg and 5.7 rpg, along with a team-best free throw percentage of .808, a season ago. She currently owns career numbers of 477 points, 317 rebounds, 156 assists and 81 steals. This season, she is averaging 9.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per outing, along with hitting 5-of-7 of her attempts from the foul line (.714). Against Alvernia, Wolff led the team in scoring with 13 points.
“HURRIKANE” AMANDA: An athletic and physical player, senior forward Amanda Kane can wreck havoc from all areas of the floor -- from the perimeter to the paint. Last season, she averaged 5.2 ppg, along with 4.4 rpg. So far this season, Kane is posting 8.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg. She was also one of three Generals to score in double-figures against Alvernia, totaling 10 markers.
SHARING CENTER STAGE: Centers sophomore Kaitlyn Kamp, and freshmen Alex Harper and Felice Herman have been given the task of filling the void left by All-ODAC center Jessica Hunsinger ‘07. The trio has shared minutes in the paint in the Generals first two games and is combining to average 14.0 points and 12.0 rebounds a contest this season. In Hunsinger’s senior season, she tallied 12.5 points and 9.9 rebounds a game.
RIDE WITH ME: Junior guard Bethany Ridenhour averaged 9.0 points per game last year, providing depth from the bench for the Generals. Thus far this season, Ridenhour has been able to provide a similar spark. She opened the 2007-08 season with eight points and seven rebounds against Alvernia and then followed that up with 16 points in the overtime loss to Goucher. In the loss to Goucher, Ridenhour helped spark a first-half comeback as she scored 11 first-stanza points, including a three-pointer with four seconds to go, putting the Generals up by one (33-32) going into the break.