LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph women's basketball team played its final game of 2023 on Sunday afternoon as it hosted Mary Baldwin. The WildCats led from the start as they defeated the Fighting Squirrels 75-45.

Randolph improves to 8-3 overall on the season. Mary Baldwin drops to 2-9.

The WildCats got out to a 12-0 lead in the first half. The Fighting Squirrels did not record its first field goal of the period until time expired on a three-point basket by Aryauna Brent. Randolph led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter and 37-19 at halftime.

A three-point basket by Mary Baldwin's Gianna Gilmore cut the Randolph lead to 15 points, 37-22, at the beginning of the third quarter. The WildCats went on a 14-3 run to go ahead 51-25 with 5:15 showing on the game clock. MBU closed to 15 points in the fourth quarter, 54-39, with 9:23 remaining. Randolph would blow the game open with a 19-4 run to take a 30-point lead with just over a minute remaining.

The WildCats shot 27-of-69 (39.1%) overall and 4-of-19 (21.1%) from behind the three-point arc. Randolph led in rebounds 43-34. The 'Cats led in the paint 34-10 and on the fast break 23-9. Mary Baldwin committed 34 turnovers which Randolph turned into 28 points.

"Nice way to finish up the year," said head coach Steve Lanpher. "I thought our guards especially Jess and Cai set the tone defensively and allowed us to get transition baskets. For the most part, we contested and limited them to one shot and forced them to turn the ball over,"

Jessica Jennings (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) led the WildCats with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting. She came away with five steals and dished out three assists. Kylie Stark (Lynchburg, Va./Brookville) added 13 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Caiyah Smith (Manassas, Va./Virginia Academy) finished with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Brooklyn Finnerty (Lynchburg, Va./Timberlake) led in rebounds with 11, which was a career high, and also had six points and three steals.  

"Cai continues to grow as a player and gives us another consistent scorer," noted Lanpher. "It was great to have Teniyah back on the court. Brooklyn was a great presence in the paint today with 11 rebounds and six points in only 17 minutes."

Randolph returns to ODAC play in the New Year when it hosts Ferrum on Wednesday evening. Game time will be at 7:00 p.m.