Coming off of a record-setting season, Washington and Lee’s women’s basketball team hopes to continue last year’s success behind the leadership of forward Mary Schleusner, ’26.
The Generals’ 2023-2024 season was their finest on record. They finished with program records of 29 wins, a .906 winning percentage and three wins in the NCAA tournament — the first national tournament wins in team history.
They also won their second consecutive Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) title. Schleusner played a huge role as a sophomore, leading the conference in individual scoring (23.9 ppg) and blocks (3.3 bpg). She also led all of Division III women’s basketball in rebounding (17.2 rpg).
Schleusner’s strong individual performances helped elevate the Gennies to the highest-scoring offense in the ODAC (76.6 ppg).
According to Schleusner, her collegiate dominance has surprised her as much as everyone else.
“In high school, I don’t think I even reached 300 total points,” she said, laughing. Last season alone, she scored 765 points, and at her current rate, she is on track to shatter the total points record by her senior season.
“I don’t even really know what happened between senior year and freshman year at W&L,” Schleusner said. “I guess I just surrounded myself with good players here and learned from them in every aspect. I learned ball handling from point guards, learned how to practice shooting from our shooters, and there were really good post players my freshman year, so I was just consuming all that information as fast as I could.”
She was honored with Rookie of the Year and first-team all ODAC during her first season.
Her growth didn’t stop there. After the 2023-2024 season, Schleusner took home ODAC Player of the Year, ODAC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-American honors.
But this year, personal achievements are not at the top of her mind, Schleusner said.
“What I want to do is I want to be the best teammate I can and help all my teammates, giving them as much confidence on the floor as I can give them with a good pass, by trusting them, and that ends up affecting me more than people realize,” she said.
The team’s chemistry and fun environment have been as important as talent and hard work, Schleusner said.
“I think the biggest thing is just enjoying all of it,” she said. “I mean, we’re DIII for a reason, because we love the sport and we also want to get a good education. So everybody shows up every single day to practice knowing that we’re here because we love basketball and because we love each other.”
That feeling of support is also present outside of the team itself, Schleusner said.
“The most rewarding part about being a student-athlete at W&L specifically is the community outside of athletics that wants to support you,” she said. “Just to see all of your best friends watching you play and supporting you and watching you do what you love…that’s so cool and so unique.”
According to Schleusner, the team will have to make adjustments, as longtime head coach Christine Clancy retired after leading her squad to never-before-seen heights. Hannah Malik, ’24, one of the most prolific shooters in the history of Washington and Lee basketball, finished her four-year journey with the Generals last year and is now playing a fifth year at Emory University.
The Generals will play Emory in their second game of the season on Nov. 16. For Schleusner, this will be one of the biggest matchups of the year, she said. Last season, Schluesner nearly broke the scoring record with a 38-point masterclass against Emory. But the team fell just short of a victory after a late blitz from the Eagles behind a 39-point performance from Emory’s star point guard.
“The Emory point guard last year was in her fifth year, and we were literally neck and neck the whole time, just going straight at each other,” Schleusner said. “And then Hannah replaced her this year as starting point guard. So, holy crap, I’m so nervous, but I’m really excited.”
With a new head coach, Brittney Kemp, and coaching staff, there are unknowns and adjustments, but Schleusner isn’t worried, she said.
“[Kemp] is just so involved and wants to get to know us more than any coach I’ve played for before,” Schleusner said.
The Gennies will have their first opportunity to play under Kemp’s new leadership on Nov. 11 at 1:00 p.m. against Southern Virginia University as W&L enters the season ranked No. 7 in the nation.
