SALEM, Virginia -- Ferrum College lost a hard fought battle in the semifinals of the 2025 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Women's Basketball Tournament to #3 seed #17 Washington and Lee University, falling 73-66 at the Salem Civic Center. The Panthers were the tournament's #7 seed.

RECORDS
#17 Washington and Lee (24-3)
Ferrum (14-13)

THE BASICS
Washington and Lee opened a 17-11 lead after the first quarter. Behind Allyson Cassell 11 points in the second, Ferrum was able to tie the game, 31-31, at the break. Aisha Martin's turnaround jumper to close the third quarter gave the Panthers a 52-50 lead heading into the fourth. Mary Schleusner hit a turnaround jumper for W&L to open the fourth quarter, was fouled and sank a free throw to make it a 53-52 Genreals lead. On Ferrum's next trip down the floor, Kleiauna Riddick rained a three-pointer to put Ferrum back on top, 55-53, at the 9:22 mark.

Sarah Zimmerman hit a three-pointer a few minutes later to break a 55-55 tie and the Generals led 58-55. Martin hit a shot at 6:08 to tit eht game at 58-58. W&L edged out in front 67-62, but a layup by Cassell and a jumper by Blankenship got Ferrum to within a point at 67-66 with 1:56 left in regulation. The Generals used a 7-0 run from there to end the game. The Generals were able to get to the free throw line 27 times compared to the Panthers 8.

KEY STATS
W&L: Zimmerman 22 pts; Schleusner 13 pts, 11 reb; Quinn McGuinness 11 pts, 7 reb
Ferrum: Riddick 15 pts; Blankenship 14 pts; Martin 14 pts; Cassell 13 pts, 6 reb

UP NEXT
The loss closes out the 2024-25 season for Coach Bryan Harvey's team. The win advances the Generals to the ODAC Tournament title game Saturday, where whey will face top seed Randolph-Macon College. The Yellow Jackets advanced to the title game with a 62-49 win over #4 Shenandoah University in today's other semifinal