SALEM, Va. – Two down, one to go.
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The Shenandoah University women's basketball team will play for its second ODAC championship in four years Sunday afternoon after taking out top-seeded Washington & Lee 62-56 in Saturday's first semi-final.
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Shenandoah (21-5) ties the program record for wins in a season with the victory over the Generals (20-6). Coach
Melissa Smeltzer-Kraft's club ties the 1987-88 team with 21 wins; that Shenandoah College and Conservatory squad finished the season with a 21-5 mark.
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The Hornets take on No. 2 Randolph-Macon for the championship. R-MC defeated No. 6 Lynchburg, 67-51, Saturday night in the second semi-final.
IN DEPTH
With the score tied at 39-39 after W&L's Grace O'Connor hit a bucket in the paint with 1:59 to play in the third, Shenandoah seized control of the contest.
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Sierra St. Cyr, the 2022 ODAC Defensive Player of the Year, canned a 3-pointer on the Hornets next possession and Smeltzer-Kraft's club never trailed again.
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St. Cyr's bucket started a 15-2 run for the victors that gave Shenandoah a 54-41 lead with 7:11 to play. The Generals would eventually cut the deficit to just three points, 62-59, with 34 seconds remaining, but a 3-of-4 performance from the line along with an
Olivia Weinel fastbreak layup with 10 seconds left sealed the victory.
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St. Cyr had eight points during this run with Weinel, a 2022 first team All-ODAC honoree adding four and
Gabby Krystofiak three.
Weinel matched her jersey number by posting a game-high 22 points with St. Cyr adding 18 points and nine rebounds.
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Shenandoah had a 44-32 edge on the glass while shooting 37 percent (19-of-51) from the field to 35 percent (20-of-58) for the Generals.
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UP NEXT
The ODAC championship tips off at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
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