LYNCHBURG, VA -- First-year guard Abigail Bullins (Asheboro, NC/Asheboro) caught fire early and posted a WildCat season-high of 34 points, but the Randolph College women's basketball team couldn't overcome 55 percent shooting by their hosts as Lynchburg College captured a 83-70 victory in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament First Round Monday evening.

Bullins scored 21 of her career-high 34 points in the first half, as she knocked down eight of her 11 fields in the first period. The 34 points ties for the third-most in program history, and the eight trifectas nailed tied for the most in program history. The 34 points were also the most for a WildCat since January 17, 2007 when Sarah Rechnitzer netted 38 points against Hollins.

The contest was back and forth in the early going, as Randolph (5-21) held a one-point lead with 14:59 left and the score 14-13. A 9-0 run from Lynchburg made the tally 20-14 after a lay-up from first-year Chaney Forbush, who finished the game with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

LC pushed its lead up to as much as seven points at 22-15, but Randolph went on an 8-0 spurt powered by five points from Bullins to take a 23-22 edge with 8:23 remaining in the opening stanza. The two teams exchanged leads eight times over the next few minutes before Lynchburg took a four-point advantage into intermission at 40-36.

The opening few minutes of the second half were the most critical, as Lynchburg came out of the gate and scored 14 of the period's first 16 points to lead by 16 at 54-38 following a three-ball from Shannon Allan. With Randolph down 15 with 7:35 in the game and the score 67-52, Randolph would mount a furious comeback by posting an 11-2 swing to make the game 69-63 with 4:44 left.

Lynchburg (17-9) wouldn't surrender the lead, and punched its ticket to the ODAC Tournament quarterfinals with its first tournament win in over a decade. The story of the contest was the inside play of the host Hornets, as the starting frontcourt of LC combined to score 52 points.

Bullins finished 13-of-24 from the field on the evening, and her shooting percentage from deep (8-14, .571) is the third-best in program history in a game. Sophomore Chelsea Tyler (Richmond, VA/Henrico) chalked up her seventh double-figure game in the last 11, as she netted 14 points, hitting six-of-11 from the line.

Sophomore center Megan Russell (Pinnacle, NC/West Stokes) had eight points and nine rebounds for the WildCats, and Emilee Dunton (Forest, VA/Brookville) added four points and six assists. Randolph shot 38.5 percent on the evening, making 47.4 percent (9-19) from deep, the third-best effort from deep in a game as a team in program history.

Lynchburg got a game-high 21 points from leading scorer Shannon Allen, as she posted seven rebounds and three blocks as well. Sophomore Lauren Penley added 15 points and five caroms, while Katie Reeves chalked up eight points, six rebounds and five assists. LC finished 28-of-51 (54.9 percent) from the floor, and out-rebounded 38-33 on the night. The Hornets will now take on Bridgewater College Friday at 3 p.m. in the Salem Civic Center in the ODAC Tournament quarterfinals.

Randolph finishes the season with the most wins since the 2008-09 season, and also chalked up three conference victories.

--RANDOLPH--