Box Score LYNCHBURG, VA – Sophomore guard Brianna Lowry (Herndon, VA/Herndon) scored a career-high 20 points and the WildCats shot a season-best 43.5 percent from the floor in earning a huge 70-62 win over Randolph-Macon College in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) action Tuesday evening from the Randolph Athletics and Dance (RAD) Center.
The victory marked Randolph's first victory over the Yellow Jackets since the 2004 season, a span of 15 games. The WildCats, which were picked 11th in the preseason ODAC poll, knocked off the team picked to finish fifth in the conference this season.
Consistency with the ball was the story for the WildCats, who shot a season-best from the floor including a blistering 53.3 percent in the second half. Included in that percentage is the great shooting from behind the arc, as Randolph knocked down six-of-13 from three land. Also, the WildCats (2-3/1-1 ODAC) turned the ball over only 18 times, which was a season-low.
The WildCats led for most of the first half, turning an 11-all game into a 20-15 lead thanks to three consecutive three balls from first-year Abigail Bullins (Asheboro, NC/Asheboro). Randolph-Macon (1-6/1-2 ODAC) trimmed the advantage to one with two minutes to play in the period, but Randolph got a lay-up by junior Brandie Witt (Bedford, VA/Liberty) with 29 seconds left in half to take a 29-26 lead into intermission.
After the break, Randolph shot out of the gates with a 15-2 run to take a 12-point lead. The spurt was capped by a lay-up from Allie Druffel (Centreville, VA/Westfield), which made the score 44-28. R-MC crept back into the contest and pulled to within three at 47-44 with 9:20 to play on a trifecta from Hannah Livermon.
Lowry wouldn't let the game get away from her and the WildCats though, as she hit three shots bundled with a three-ball from Emilee Dunton (Forest, VA/Brookville) to push the lead back up to 12 with six minutes to play. The Yellow Jackets would push to get back into the game, but Lowry hit four free throws down the stretch to send Randolph to the 70-62 win.
Lowry posted her 20 points on six-of-nine shooting, drilling both of her threes and all six of her freebies. The most telling stat of her night might be that she played 38 minutes and committed zero turnovers, handling the ball primarily. She also finished with six boards, five assists and two steals.
The contributions were plentiful for Randolph, as Jensen Hoover (Woodstock, VA/Central) celebrated her birthday with 13 points and six boards, while Dunton chalked up a nice line of eight points, seven rebounds and six assists. Her six assists ties for the 10th most in a game in school history.
Witt only played 18 minutes, but was efficient in her play scoring eight points to go with four rebounds, and Druffel registerd eight points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Bullins was three-for-five from downtown in ending the game with nine points, the most of any Randolph reserve. The WildCats out-rebounded their visitors 48-41, and posted 19 assists on 27 made buckets.
Randolph-Macon got a team-leading 20 points and a game-best of 12 boards from standout first-year Katie Anderson. Sarah Parsons struggled from the floor to the tune of three-of-14, but did finish with 10 points off the bench for the Jackets. Khajae Hester added eight points and five helpers, and Livermon posted eight points as well. R-MC shot just 33.8 percent (24-71) from the field, and turned the ball over 15 times.
"I don't think I can put it into words. This was a really big win for our team, we've been working really hard to move in the right direction and a win like this certainly does get us going in the right direction," said head coach Allison Nichols.
The WildCats will head back on the road Thursday evening to take on Mary Baldwin College at 7 p.m. in Staunton, VA.
--RANDOLPH--
