Last year, Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti famously said, “We don’t just beat top 25 teams, we beat the [expletive] out of them.” The Washington and Lee women’s basketball team has followed that sentiment this season. The Generals beat No. 23 Shenandoah University 69-52 about a week ago. And also like Cignetti’s football team, they have won their first 15 games.
The team has ascended to No. 6 in both the D3hoops.com and coaches polls and won the majority of its by more than 10 points. They grab an average of nine more rebounds than opponents, and they can sustain two losses and still achieve the best record in school history. During the 2023-24 season, the Generals went 29-3.
Achieving the best record in school history “would be a great accomplishment for the team and really special to do it with our seniors this year,” Megan Zimmerman, ’28, said. “Whether or not that happens, we’re still shooting for our goals.”
She said those goals include “to win ODACs and make it to the national championship.”
The Generals have relied on returning players to achieve success this season, Zimmerman said. They returned their top nine scorers from the previous season and still have 10 players who were a part of the 2023-24 team’s NCAA quarterfinal run.
“Having people who have been in those high pressure scenarios is really helpful when we get to big games,” said Zimmerman. “They have a really calm mindset that’s contributed to our past success and will continue to be a strength once we get into the tournament.”
The group of 10 players from the 2024 run includes six seniors who are wins-wise the most accomplished class in program history. The senior class is headlined by Mary Schleusner, ’26.
Schleusner has virtually every program scoring record, including the most points in a single game (45), most points in a season (765), and most career points (2,125). She leads the career scoring list by nearly 300 points and still has half of a season to go. After the recent win against Shenandoah University, Schleusner earned United States Basketball Writers Association national player of the week honors.
The team has also added three first-years who have played important roles in the team’s success, Zimmerman said.
“They bring new skills and different ways to score that provide us more depth and variety. They have stepped up into big roles and can take on any challenge,” she said.
The team has 11 games left before postseason. Zimmerman said that the game against Bridgewater College next Wednesday and senior day against Guilford College on Feb. 21 would be good home games for students to attend.
In other words, if students want to see a historically good basketball team, they should make their way to Holekamp Gym. And who knows? Maybe the Generals will beat the [expletive] out of another top 25 team.
