Washington and Lee University
W&L VS. MARY BALDWIN: W&L holds an 8-0 advantage in the all-time series with Mary Baldwin, including a 64-54 victory last season in Lexington, Va.
LAST MEETING with MBC (1/18/07): Forward Kristen Krouchick dropped in season-high 24 points to lead W&L to a 64-54 win over Mary Baldwin at the Warner Center. The Generals began the contest with an 8-0 run in the opening 2:36 and never trailed in the first half en route to a 28-19 lead at the break. W&L opened the second stanza with a made basket to up its lead to 11 points (30-19), but the Squirrels clawed back, using a 17-5 run to take a 36-35 lead at 14:56. MBC led by two points (38-36) at 13:51, but W&L took a 41-40 advantage at 11:15 and did not relinquish its lead for the rest of the game. W&L was led by Krouchick, who also pulled down nine rebounds. Center Jessica Hunsinger notched 18 points, a season-high 15 rebounds and a school-record nine blocks. Guard Jessica Carter paced Mary Baldwin with 28 points and six steals, while forward Kara Hawkins tallied 10 points and 15 rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Generals open ODAC action this week, hosting Randolph-Macon on Friday at 7:00 pm and Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday at 4:30 pm.
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 49-59 (.454). King is assisted by Kristen McCandless (TCNJ ’03), who is in her third season.
THIS JUST IN: Mary Washington senior center Liz Hickey racked up 25 points, eight rebounds and eight blocks as the top-ranked Eagles posted a 79-64 victory over W&L on Nov. 20 at the Warner Center. The Generals took an early four-point edge, 11-7, just four minutes into the contest and led by one, 14-13, with 12:30 to play in the first half, but the Eagles took the lead for good, 15-14, on the ensuing possession. W&L kept within striking distance, trailing by just one point (26-25 at 8:39; 28-27 at 6:47), however UMW closed out the half with a 16-4 run to take a 44-31 lead into the break. The Eagles held the Generals to just one point in the opening 3:58 of the second half and extended their lead to 24 points (56-32) at 16:04. W&L managed a late push, cutting the margin to 14 points (73-59) with 2:40 to play, but it wasn’t enough as UMW held on for the 79-64 win. Senior forward Amanda Kane led W&L with 13 points and eight rebounds, while freshman center Felice Herman tallied a career-high 11 points and seven rebounds.
SCOUTING THE SQUIRRELS: Mary Baldwin is currently 3-0 on the season, opening the season with wins over Bryn Mawr (64-59), Notre Dame of Maryland (87-68) and ODAC-foe Randolph (73-60). The Squirrels are led by senior guard Jessica Carter, who is averaging 25.3 points per game and is shooting .500 (28-56) from the floor, including .526 (10-17) from long-range. Junior guard Christie Hamilton is also posting double-figures (17.7 ppg) as is freshman guard Iiesha Ricks (10.0 ppg). Sophomore center Kara Hawkins leads MBC with 10.3 rebounds per contest and is also averaging 5.3 points per outing.
W&L VS. RANDOLPH-MACON: The Yellow Jackets own a 26-4 advantage in the all-time series and have won the past 13 meetings. R-MC has not lost to the Generals since a 76-71 double-overtime contest on Dec. 1, 2001 in Lexington, Va.
LAST MEETING WITH R-MC (1/16/07): Randolph-Macon forward Lindsay Riesbeck scored a game-high 26 points as the Yellow Jackets ended the Washington and Lee women’s basketball team’s two-game winning streak with a 75-64 victory at the Warner Center. Randolph-Macon jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first 8:29 of the contest and never trailed in the game. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 12 points (31-19) at 1:16 and held a 35-24 advantage at the break. The Generals came back in the second half, cutting the lead to five points twice (43-38 at 13:38 and 50-45 at 9:25), but could never get any closer as R-MC hit 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the last 1:19. W&L was limited by 24 turnovers and a .361 (22-61) field goal percentage, while the Yellow Jackets connected on 31-of-61 (.484) of their shots from the floor. The Generals were led by center Jessica Hunsinger, who scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor and grabbed 10 rebounds. Forward Kara Nadeau tallied 13 points, while guard Emily Wolff notched 11 points and corralled six boards. Riesbeck shot 13-of-18 from the field to lead the Yellow Jackets. Center Molly Ariail joined Riesbeck in double-figures with 10 points.
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS: Randolph-Macon, ranked 23rd in last week’s national poll, enters the week with a 2-0 record. The Yellow Jackets take on Eastern Mennonite on Tuesday, before traveling to Lexington on Friday. On the season, junior guard Amanda Hiltunen (15.5 ppg), junior forward Lindsay Riesback (15.0 ppg), senior guard Nicole Childress (10.5 ppg) and sophomore center and reigning ODAC Rookie of the Year Molly Ariail (10.0 ppg) are all averaging double-digits in scoring.
W&L VS. VIRGINIA WESLEYAN: This is the 30th all-time meeting between Virginia Wesleyan and Washington and Lee. The Marlins currently own an 18-11 advantage in the all-time series and have won the five prior meetings, including three wins last season.
LAST MEETING WITH THE VWC (2/24/07): Forward Heather Phillips scored a game-high 23 points to lead second-seeded Virginia Wesleyan to a 73-62 victory over sixth-seeded Washington and Lee in the semifinals of the ODAC Women’s Basketball Tournament at the Salem Civic Center. The Generals started strong and led 25-21 with 7:10 remaining in the first period, but the Marlins closed the half with an 18-4 run to assume a 39-29 lead at the break. Virginia Wesleyan extended its lead to 15 points (45-30) just over a minute into the second half and held a 51-38 advantage with 15:22 to play. However, W&L immediately went on an 11-0 run highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from forward Hayley James to slice the VWC lead to 51-49 with 12:02 left. That would be as close as the Generals would get the rest of the way as a quick 9-0 run for the Marlins gave them a 60-49 lead with 7:50 remaining and they maintained a double-digit lead for much of the remaining time. The Generals were led by forward Kristen Krouchick, who tallied 14 points and six rebounds. Center Jessica Hunsinger totaled 12 points and seven rebounds, while guard Emily Wolff also posted 12 points. James chipped in 10 points and nine boards. Phillips was joined in double-figures by guard Chelsey Barrett, who registered 10 points.
SCOUTING THE MARLINS: VWC enters the week with a 2-1 record, after defeating Salisbury, 67-62, last week. The Marlins will take on Randolph on Tuesday and Roanoke on Friday before meeting the Generals on Saturday. Thus far, senior forward Heather Phillips paces VWC with 14.7 ppg, while sophomore guard Tonia Jones is adding 11.0 ppg and senior forward Taylor Lowe is averaging 10.3 ppg.
STARTING UP: Despite the Generals’ 0-3 start to the season, history is on the side of the Blue and White to reverse its losing start. W&L has not begun the season 0-3 since 2001-02 and has never started a season 0-4.
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.
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 (13.5 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. She currently owns 1,084 career points (seventh all-time at W&L), 437 rebounds, 127 steals and 153 assists. This season, she is nearly averaging a double-double with 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. In the loss to Alvernia, she tallied her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“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. So far this season, Kane is posting a second-best 10.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg. She has scored in double-figures in two games, totaling 10 markers against Alvernia and 13 points against Mary Washington.
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 three games and are combining to average 14.0 points and 11.3 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 as she is averaging 8.7 points per game. 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.
-- GENERALS --