LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph women's basketball team hosted Hollins University in an ODAC contest on Wednesday evening at Giles Gymnasium. The game went into overtime where Randolph outscored HU 13-5 in the period to come away with a 63-55 victory.
With the win, Randolph improves to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the ODAC. Hollins drops to 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the conference.
The WildCats fell behind 5-2 early in the first quarter before they rallied with an 11-0 run to go up 13-5 with 47 seconds left on the clock. Hollins's Destiny Johnson made a three to stop Randolph's run and the score stood at 13-8 at the end of the quarter.
Randolph led 24-17 with 3:42 left in the second quarter. Hollins cut into its deficit as it went on a 7-2 run to make it a one-possession game, 26-24, at halftime.
In the third quarter, Hollins kept pace with the 'Cats as they closed to within one point, 32-31, with 7:33 on the game clock. After Kylie Stark (Lynchburg, Va./Brookville) made a pair of free throws, Missy Hazard drained a three to tie the game at 34-all. Randolph briefly took the lead back until Hollins tied it up again with 36 seconds left. Simone Brown (Norfolk, Va./Lake Taylor) converted on a layup with seven ticks left to put Randolph ahead 40-38 at the conclusion of the quarter.
In the fourth period, Hollins took its first lead since early in the first quarter, 43-42, with 4:34 left in regulation. HU eventually went ahead 47-44 with 2:39 left to play. A 6-0 Randolph run gave the home team a 50-47 lead with under a minute to play. Hoover hit a three with 29 seconds left to tie the contest up at 50-50. After a WildCat turnover, Hollins had a chance to win the game but a three by Missy Hazard was off the mark and the game went into an extra period.
In overtime, Hazard made a three-point basket to put Hollins ahead 53-50. Caiyah Smith (Manassas, Va./Virginia Academy) answered for the WildCats to tie the game at 53-53. HU made two free throws to grab the lead back but Randolph went 10-for-10 from the charity stripe in the final 2:26 to pull away for the win.
"Not the prettiest game but it was exciting and we were able to get the win," said head coach Steve Lanpher after the game. "I thought between the 39 combined fouls and the 39 combined turnovers it was very difficult to get into a rhythm. Really proud that we stuck together and maintained our composure in overtime."
Randolph shot 44.7% (21-of-47) from the floor but only made 2-of-8 (25%) three-point baskets. The team converted 79.2% (19-of-24) from the free throw line. Hollins made 31.8% (21-of-66) overall and 7-of-25 (28%) from behind the three-point arc.
Stark scored 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting and grabbed six rebounds to go with two assists and one block. Jessica Jennings (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) added 11 points, five assists, and three steals. Brown had her second double-double performance of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
"I am really proud of Simone, Pariz was huge defensively and provided us with confident play on both ends," said Lanpher. "Cai and Taniya also provided us with valuable minutes off the bench. Taniya had a big basket at the end of the 4th to help us get to overtime and Cai hit a big 3 in overtime to get us going. Kylie & Jess executed well in the overtime period which allowed us to pull away with the win!"
Randolph is idle until next Wednesday when it goes on the road to face Roanoke. Game time from Salem, Va. is at 5:00 p.m.
