BRANDEIS TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT

Game 1 • W&L (0-0) vs. Mount Holyoke (0-0) • November 19, 2004 • 8:00 pm

Game 2 • W&L (0-0) vs. Russell Sage (0-0) or Brandeis (0-0) • November 20, 2004 • 1:00 or 3:00 pm

COMMANDING THE GENERALS:
Mandy King (Southern Maine ’98) is in her second season as head women's basketball coach at W&L. She posted a 9-17 in her first year at the helm and has a career record of 9-17. King's first season resulted in a six-game improvement over the previous campaign and included a bid to the ODAC Postseason Tournament. Under her direction, two players earned All-ODAC honors and another finished second in the balloting for the conference rookie of the year award. King came to W&L after serving as the assistant women's basketball coach at Bloomsburg University for two seasons. During her time at Bloomsburg, King helped the Huskies achieve a 36-17 overall record and two berths to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament. Dean’na Mitchelson (Virginia ’02) is in her first season as assistant women’s basketball coach at W&L. Prior to her arrival, Mitchelson served as head women’s basketball coach at Robert E. Lee High School during the 2003-04 season. Mitchelson captained the women’s basketball team at the University of Virginia where she was a four-year letterwinner.

ALL-TIME SERIES:
Washington and Lee has never met any of the three possible opponents at this weekend’s tournament.

LAST TIME OUT:
The last time W&L took the court, the eighth-seeded Generals fell 64-61 to top-seeded Eastern Mennonite in the quarterfinals of the 2004 ODAC Tournament. Senior forward Sarah Michaels recorded a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Center Jessica Hunsinger also notched a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds while blocking four shots.

UP NEXT:
Washington and Lee opens its home schedule on Tuesday when it hosts Peace College at 7:00 p.m. The Generals lost to the Pacers, 62-43, in their 2003-04 season- opener.

SCOUTING THE LYONS:
Mount Holyoke returns 10 players and all five starters from last season’s 20-8 team. The Lyons return their Top 4 scorers, who all averaged at least 10 points per game, including senior guard Sarah Belding (13.5 ppg) and junior center Jonee Billy (12.3 ppg). Billy also pulled down a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING THE GATORS:
Russell Sage finished the 2003-04 season with a 3-18 record but return its top two scorers in senior guards Jamie Desso (15.1 ppg) and Connie Kaidas (11.2 ppg).

SCOUTING THE JUDGES:
After concluding the 2003-04 campaign with a 22-5 record, Brandeis enters this season as the No. 22 ranked team in the preseason Division III women’s basketball poll. Despite the loss of All-American Danielle Fitzpatrick, the Judges still have sophomore forward Caitlin Malcolm (11.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and junior forward Christine Clancy (10.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg) returning to the court.

RETURNING TO THE COURT:
Washington and Lee returns five letterwinners and four starters back from last season’s team. Leading the way are the Generals’ co-captains, senior guard Bethany Dannelly and junior guard Louisa Feve. Dannelly controls the offense with her ball-handling and passing skills. She is W&L’s all-time assist leader with 323 and her 87 assists last season topped the team. She was also second with 43 steals. Feve was a factor on both ends of the court where she averaged 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and led the team with 49 steals. The three other returners are senior forward Emily Barker, sophomore center Jessica Hunsinger, and sophomore guard Sarah Otey. Barker, the starting goalkeeper on W&L’s soccer team, averaged 3.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last year. Hunsinger was a dominant post presence as she finished second on the team with 14.2 points per game and led the ODAC with 10.2 rebounds per game. Otey is a versatile player who had a positive impact on both the offensive (8.2 ppg) and defensive (32 steals) ends of the court.

CENTER OF ATTENTION:
Sophomore center Jessica Hunsinger made her presence known on the court during her freshman campaign at W&L by averaging a double-double with 14.2 points and an ODAC-best 10.8 rebounds per game. She also led the team with 51 blocks, which was the second-highest single season total in school history. Hunsinger scored a career-high 26 points in 79-61 loss to Randolph-Macon and pulled down a career-best 18 rebounds to go along with 14 points in a 70-49 win over Southern Virginia. She also set a school record with eight blocks in a 60-55 win over Emory & Henry.

ROAD WARRIORS:
The Generals will play five of their first six games away from the Warner Center, including a season-opening road trip to Massachusetts where they will play in the Brandeis Tip-Off Tournament. Last season, W&L was 7-5 at home but just 2-12 at road/neutral sites.

FRESH FACES:
Second-year head coach Mandy King hit the recruiting trail hard in the off-season as she brought in eight freshmen this season. Guards Emily Wolff, Kristen Krouchick, Kat Michaels, and Jenna Thorne and forwards Amanda Kane, Dargan McMaster, Hayley James, and Georgia Gilroy will all see playing time this season and add depth, quickness, and power to the Generals’ roster.

MAGIC NUMBER PART I:
Washington and Lee must keep the number 60 in mind when it steps out onto the basketball court this season. In 2003-04, the Generals were 9-3 when they held their opponent to 60 points or less but were 0-14 when the opposition scored at least 61 points.

MAGIC NUMBER PART II:
The Generals went 6-1 when they held their opponents to 55 points or less. The one loss was a 54-53 setback at Bridgewater.

80-80:
Last season, guards Bethany Dannelly and Louisa Feve became the first pair of Generals in program history to each dish out at least 80 assists in a season. Dannelly led the team with 87 while Feve had 81. Dannelly holds the single-season (152) and career-records (323) for assists at Washington and Lee.

TOURNAMENT TOUGH:
For the sixth consecutive season, the Generals will open the season by playing in a tournament. They went 2-8 in the previous five tournaments. This will be W&L’s second trip to Massachusetts to play in a season-opening tournament. In 1999-2000, it played in the Wellesley Invitational where it went 1-1, including a 60-49 win over Randolph-Macon Woman’s College.

-- GENERALS --