DANVILLE, Va. – Faced with a tough test in its conference opener, Averett University women's basketball gave visitors and No. 7 Washington and Lee University all it could through 60 minutes. Leading by halftime, the Generals withstood the Cougars' fight, and dropped the home side, 73-65 on Tuesday night at the Grant Center.
Averett (1-5, 0-1 ODAC) struggled to get on the right foot early, with Washington and Lee (7-0, 2-0 ODAC) freezing the Cougar offense and only limited them to nine points in the first quarter. Zoe Raine led the visitors to 20 points on the other end, creating an early 11-point lead.
The Cougars, out of nowhere, came alive in the second period, as they slowly climbed out of the deficit with a slight 10-8 run to open the period to only trail 28-19 with under eight minutes left. The latter minutes were dominated by the undermanned home side, leaving the No. 7 Generals puzzled. Through the last six minutes, Averett held Washington and Lee to a single made field goal and forced six turnovers, while scoring 11 on the other hand to swing the game into their favor.
Unexpectedly at the half, the Cougars led the Generals by one, 30-29. Averett forced 14 turnovers as a team, amassing 11 steals. The home team so far was led by the red-hot
DaiShaundria Giggetts with her 10 points and four steals.
The visitors immediately took the lead back with a three-pointer to open the third, but the Cougars held their own, as they remained within four at 40-36 at 5:42 in the period. From there, the Generals took off on a 10-2 run to go up by double figures, 48-38.
Help from the bench kept Averett in the fight, with freshman
Crishya Sellers' four points cutting the deficit slightly. By the start of the fourth, Washington and Lee led 54-46.
A 13-point lead was all that the visitors needed to survive the upstart Cougars, never relinquishing its advantage against Averett. Despite letting up with consecutive buckets from guard
Jy'Lyia Mizell, the Generals survived the contest with a 73-65 final.
The Cougars' efforts were led by Giggetts, tying for the game-high in points with preseason All-American General Mary Schleusner with 18, along with five rebounds and five steals. The sophomore guard also achieved a career-best from the foul line, making a perfect eight-for-eight.
Zariia America and Mizell achieved double-figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Averett gave Washington and Lee all it could defensively, forcing a season-high 28 turnovers from the Generals, and tied its season-low in three-pointers made with three. Slightly undermanned, the Cougars' benched shined to the tune of 21 points from the group.
Team-wise, Averett shot its best night from the charity stripe, with an 18-for-19 performance; while also totaling a season-high 18 steals.
The Cougars remain at home for their upcoming contest on Saturday, Dec. 6, hosting Bridgewater College, receiving votes in the D3hoops.com poll. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
