LEXINGTON, Va. (BC Athletics) – The Bridgewater College women’s basketball team’s second half comeback effort came up just short at No. 6 Washington & Lee, 63-57, on Wednesday night.

The Basics
Score: No. 6 Washington & Lee 63, (RV) Bridgewater 57
Records: (RV) Bridgewater 13-3 (6-1 ODAC), No. 6 Washington & Lee 16-0 (7-0 ODAC)

How It Happened
• A second-chance effort by Schleusner got WLU on the board first on the game’s first possession. BC replied on the other end as Riley Corcoran capitalized on a second-chance opportunity to level the score. A Generals bucket and make at the charity stripe put them ahead by three points, but a Jay Garcia three-pointer knotted the contest once again. WLU followed with a score to wrestle the lead back and quickly created separation thanks to a 15-2 scoring run. A bucket with under three minutes to play in the period made it 20-7 before a Garcia bucket followed. The Generals had a reply, but four-straight points from Angelina Yann cut the lead back to nine. The home team made a free throw inside the quarter’s final 10 seconds to make it a 23-13 WLU advantage after 10 minutes.

• The Eagles’ defense tightened up to start the second stanza as the Generals did not score until three minutes had gone by; however, BC also did not score during the time span. WLU broke the scoring drought, but an Autumn Gentry score in response did not let the Generals pull away. BC capitalized as gentry’s score sparked an 8-2 Eagles’ run capped off by a Corcoran score to make it 27-21 with under four minutes to go in the half. The Generals replied with a scoring run of their own as four points by Schleusner fueled a 7-2 burst to stretch the lead back to double digits at 34-23. The two sides traded buckets over the final 90 seconds with a Gentry score giving the Eagles the last laugh. WLU led 36-26 at the intermission.

• It took over two minutes to get the scoring started in the third quarter as it was a Corcoran layup in transition that gave BC the first score of the frame. Gentry followed with a three-pointer on a dish from Corcoran and sliced the gap down to five. WLU broke up the scoring with a make at the charity stripe, but a pair of makes at the free throw line by Corcoran capped off a 7-1 BC run to open the second half. WLU ended a four-minute drought without a make from the floor on the next possession, but four more points in succession from the Eagles sliced the gap all the way down to 39-37 just north of the media timeout. The Eagles had a look to tie the game on a put-back chance, but it missed the mark. Both teams went silent from the floor until a three-pointer by the Generals pushed the lead back out to five. The long-range make sparked a 12-6 run by the Generals that allowed them to slowly pull away to a 51-43 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

• The Generals tallied the first four points of the fourth stanza to pull back head by 12 points, but the Eagles responded with a 10-2 scoring run over the next 4:13. BC was perfect from the field during the span and limited the Generals to one-of-five to cut the gap down to 57-53 with 3:49 to go. WLU responded on cue with six points from Schleusner. BC did not register a field goal attempt during the 82-second time span and found themselves behind 63-53 with 1:45 to go. The Eagles did not back down as a Polston bucket shortly after gave the Eagles life. Bridgewater got a key stop and an Asia Williams score cut the lead to six points with 39 seconds to play, but the Generals were able to hang on to the ball to secure the victory.

Match Notes
• Corcoran fueled the BC offense with 16 points to tie Jaden Alsberry for 16th on the Bridgewater All-Time scoring list. BC also saw Polston (11), Garcia (10) and Gentry (10) all score in double figures in the effort. Garcia led BC on the glass with eight rebounds and tossed in three blocks.
• Schleusner led Washington and Lee with 22 points and 21 rebounds. No other General had more than nine points or four rebounds.
• WLU held a 48-35 edge on the glass thanks to Schleusner. Both teams were nearly even from the floor at a slight Generals’ edge at 38.6% to BC’s 38.3%. Wednesday night’s contest was the General’s lowest margin of victory in conference play this season, and their smallest margin of victory against an unranked opponent since their season opener.

Up Next
Bridgewater returns home for a meeting with Virginia Wesleyan on Friday night at 6 p.m.Please not the date and time change due to the projected impacts of Winter Storm Fern.

— BC Athletics —