LEXINGTON, Va. --- Only one team ends any sports season with a victory. For ODAC and
Washington and Lee University fans, that squad will not be the Generals were on the wrong side of a strong fourth quarter by Denison University that powered the Big Red to a 77-64 triumph in the Division III Women's Basketball Championship quarterfinals on Saturday night in Lexington.
This is the first time WLU lost all season, leaving the nationally third-ranked Generals with an impressive 31-1 record. Eighth-ranked Denison improves to 28-2 and will now square off with the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the semifinals in Salem on Thursday evening.
Washington and Lee trailed by 10 at the half and as many as 12 in the third quarter before a furious comeback actually saw the Generals carry a two-point lead three times before closing the frame all-square with Denison at 50-50.
The Big Red turned up the pressure in the fourth quarter, draining five of their first eight shots including a pair of three-pointers to lead by eight points, 64-56, at the quarter's media timeout with 4:06 to play. WLU shaved DU's lead to five on a three by
Sam Collins with 2:43 to go, but a 7-3 run by Denison that resulted in a 71-62 Big Red advantage with 0:52 provided DU with the margin it needed to see out the game.
Generals' All-American forward
Mary Schleusner produced her best game of the 2026 Division III tournament with game-highs of 27 points and 29 rebounds. She was 10-of-23 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line while chipping in three blocked shots and three steals. Point guard
Quinn McGuinness dropped in 11 points with two assists, and Collins posted 10 markers powered by two makes from downtown.
Ada Taute led four Big Red in double figures with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting including 3-of-3 from three. Molly Dorighi added 19 points, while Abby Cooch posted 12 tallies and seven boards and Brooke Toigo added 10 markers. Anelly Mad-toingué pulled down a team-high 15 rebounds.
Schleusner, the three-time ODAC Player of the Year and four-time ODAC Defensive Player of the Year, leaves an incredible legacy in both ODAC and WLU history. She will graduate as the conference's all-time leader in basketball history -- men or women -- in several categories including points (2,483), rebounds (1,992), field goals made (994), field goals attempted (2,029), and blocked shots (348). She also features next to five conference single-season women's basketball records including points scored (765 in 2023-24), field goals made (305 in 2023-24), field goal attempts (582 in 2024-25), rebounds (569 in 2024-25), and rebounding average (19.0 in 2024-25).
Schleusner is the all-time record-holder in Division III history for rebounds and double-doubles (97). She ranks seventh all-time in Division III history in career points and rebounding average (16.3) while sitting second all-time among Divisions I, II, and III in career rebounds and third in career double-doubles.