EMORY, Va.- The Randolph women's basketball team traveled west part of the Commonwealth on Saturday to take on Emory and Henry. The Wasps defense kept the WildCats in check as they would defeat Randolph 70-40.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball in the game's first four minutes. E&H's Josie Salyer broke the drought with a layup at the 5:57 mark. Randolph answered with Cameron O'Neil's (Gloucester, Va./Gloucester) three-point bucket 22 seconds later that gave the WildCats a 3-2 lead. It would prove to be the 'Cats only field goal of the quarter as the Wasps went on to lead 14-4.
Imani Reid (Minneapolis, Minn./Armstrong) started the second period with a three-pointer of her own that cut the E&H lead to seven points, 14-7. Emory and Henry then broke off a 16-point run that blew the game open and gave the home team a 30-7 lead with 2:30 remaining until halftime. Maggie Walton (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) knocked down a trey with a little over two minutes left and a pair of free throws by E&H's Alexis Hoppers at 1:22 ended the scoring for the quarter as the Wasps led 32-10.
The Randolph offense started off the third quarter strong as a 12-3 run, which started with scoring seven straight points, cut the team's deficit to 13 points, 35-22, with 6:04 showing on the game clock. An 11-4 run by the Wasps, however, built the E&H back up to 21 points, with 13 ticks on the game clock before Kylie Stark (Lynchburg, Va./Brookville) sank three free throws to make it 52-34 Emory and Henry going into the final quarter. The Wasps outscored the WildCats 18-6 in the final quarter to not leave the game in doubt.
The WildCats made just 12-of-52 shots (23.1%) from the field and 5-of-22 (22.7%) from behind the three-point arc. The Wasps were good on 28-of-58 (48.3%) on overall field goals and 9-of-24 (37.5%) in three-point attempts. E&H also controlled the glass with 43-29 advantage.
O'Neil and Stark both finished with 11 points. Stark added six rebounds and four assists. Reid scored six points and pulled down six boards to go with three steals. Tenae Romain (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate Academy) also had six rebounds to go with two points and a steal.
"We came out with a good amount energy and intensity today but offensively we were much too impatient, taking quick shots, especially in the first half," said head coach Steve Lanpher. "We dug ourselves a double digit deficit in the 1st quarter and it was too much to overcome. I liked how we continued to battle throughout the game even though our shots weren't falling."
Randolph will host Washington and Lee this Tuesday at Giles Gymnasium. Tip-off will be at 7:00 p.m.
