After a hard fought game, the Washington and Lee women’s basketball team were swept away by the Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan in the ODAC game at the Warner Center. The Generals fell to 7-8 on the season on Wednesday evening, with a 3-4 record in ODAC play.

The lady Generals took the lead with seven seconds to go in the first quarter, thanks to a three-pointer by Taylor Casey, ’20. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 12-11 with the Generals on top. The game remained tight throughout the rest of the first half: going into halftime, Virginia Wesleyan led 23-21.

At the start of the third quarter, the Marlins made an 8-4 run to snag a 31-25 lead with 6:56 on the clock. The Generals proceeded to score five consecutive points, beginning with another well- timed three-point shot from Casey and a layup from the Generals leading scorer on Wednesday, Emily Perszyk, ’18. This gave the Generals the lead again.

The team never regained the lead after a 12-2 run by the Marlins to close out the third quarter. The third quarter ended with the Marlins ahead by 10 point with a score of 42-32. Virginia Wesleyan out- scored the Blue and White 21-15 in the fourth quarter, leading to the final score of 63-47.

The Generals shot 32 percent from the field, making 16 out of the 54 shots taken. The ladies scored six of their 22 at- tempted three-point shots, half of which were made by Casey.

Perszyk led the Generals with 13 points on Wednesday, with three free throws and five from the field. She also led the team in assists with four.

Captain Emma Redding, ’18, set a career record of seven blocks. Redding now ties for fourth in W&L history for blocks in a single game. She also added seven points and eight rebounds for the Generals.

“We weren’t happy with this loss,” Redding said. “Our shots weren’t falling and we didn’t sit down and play the defense necessary to make up for it.”

The team said, however, that they are anticipating being able to rebuild their strength and competitiveness in the rest of the season.

“We’ve been struggling to get our shots to fall recently,” Andrea Ferrero, ’18, said after Wednesday’s game. “But we are looking forward to the next couple of conference games ready to come out strong and show who we truly are as a team.”

The team definitely showed their talent Saturday, Jan. 21, at Bridgewater College. The Generals defeated the Eagles 84-75 in Bridgewater, Va.

Casey dominated the game with 29 points, including 8 three-point shots. She also added four rebounds and one assist for the Generals.

Perszyk was dominant from the free-throw line, making all 10 of her attempts from the line. She also led the team in assists, once again, with six.

Ferrero and Redding each led the team with two blocks each and scored six and seven points, respectively. Redding shot 75 percent from the free throw line, making three of her four attempts.

The Generals improved significantly from Wednesday’s game, shooting 40.6 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from behind the three-point line and 76 percent from the free throw line.

The ladies hit the road again Wednesday to play Randolph College in Lynchburg, hoping to pick up another ODAC victory.

The ladies do not return to the Warner Center until January 28, when they will face the Maroons of Roanoke College.

Taylor Casey, ‘20, soars above the competition on Saturday’s game to make this shot. Photo courtesy of W&L Sports Info.