FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.- The Randolph women's basketball team took on Methodist on Wednesday evening at the Riddle Center. The WildCats outscored the Monarchs in three of four quarters to come out with a 47-44 victory.
The first quarter saw both teams struggle shooting from the floor as Randolph did not register its first basket, a three-pointer from Amber Garrett (Stephens City, Va./Sherando), until under four minutes remaining in the period. The WildCats would go on to lead 11-6.
Methodist scored the first five points of the second quarter to tie the game at 11-11. The teams traded leads and twice tied the contest up. The Monarchs would go on a 9-2 run to end the period and went into the break ahead 22-18.
Randolph outscored Methodist 15-11 in the third quarter The WildCats were ahead 33-27 with 3:08 left in the quarter after a three from Garrett but the Monarchs scored six straight points to once again tie the contest at 33-33.
The WildCats pushed ahead 39-35 on back-to-back layups from Kalyn Banks (Clinton, Md./From the Heart Christian School) and Garrett. Randolph's lead grew to seven points, 43-36, with 5:23 left in the game. Methodist erased its deficit as it went on to tie 43-43 with just over two minutes showing on the clock. The Cats went ahead 45-43 on a Yanessa Cabrera (Manassas, Va./Stonewall Jackson) jump shot. A free throw from the Monarchs got them to within one points. Banks nailed a jumper with the shot clock winding down and 15 seconds left to up the WildCat lead to 47-44. The Monarchs missed a pair of free throws in the waning seconds and Randolph ran out the clock to secure the win.
Banks finished with 10 points and eight rebounds on the night. Cabrera added nine points, five assists, four steals, and three rebounds. Garrett chipped in eight points and four boards. Alyssa Morroni (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds.
Both teams shot 33% from the field with the WildCats going 20-of-60 and the Monarchs 17-of-51. Randolph had a big edge in rebounds 49-34. The WildCats had the advantage in bench points 20-10 and fast break points 11-5.
The WildCats head north to the New York City area as they will play Mount Saint Vincent College this Saturday. Game time will be at 12:00 p.m.
