SAN JUAN, PR - Women's Basketball made the trip down to Puerto Rico to compete in the Puerto Rico Classic. For game one the WildCats faced #21 UMass Dartmouth - it was a tightly contested game, however, the 'Cats fell 48-70.

"We knew it was going to be a tall task going against the #21 ranked team in the country," said head coach Steve Lanpher. "But we really came out in the first half and controlled tempo and limited their shooters."

The first half started out fairly evenly for both teams, trading shots back and forth. Randolph got on the board early with a jumper from Teniyah Crenshaw-Patterson, but UMass Dartmouth responded with the shot from behind the arc to take the early lead. The WildCats went on an 8-4 run to put them up 10-6 with 5:19 remaining in the quarter. Corsairs added a jumper and one free throw to only be down by one, but an 8-2 run, that included two three-pointers from Maddie Pabon and a jumper from Kylie Stark, from the WildCats would close out the quarter with Randolph leading 18-11. At the start of the second quarter, UMass Dartmouth started the scoring early with a jumper, but Taniya Jackson responded with a jumper of her own to keep the WildCats in front. Much like the first quarter, points were being scored by both teams showing their defensive skills. Randolph had a six-point lead, 23-17, with 6:35 left in the half, but the Corsairs would add a 7-5 run to narrow the score, 28-23, to close out the half. 

"We really came out in the first half and controlled tempo and limited their shooters," said Lanpher. "We took care of the basketball in the first half allowing us to take a five-point lead into half time."

The second half, the Corsairs came out fierce, and tied the score 28-all with two layups and a free throw with 7:00 minutes remaining in the third quarter. Crenshaw-Patterson put up a layup to take back the lead for Randolph, but the WildCats started to get off rhythm offensively and UMass Dartmouth went on a 10-0 run for the first biggest lead of the evening, 38-30. The WildCats added a few more points, but two three-pointers from the Corsairs put them up by 11 to close out the quarter, 44-33. In the fourth quarter, UMass Dartmouth held off Randolph's comeback efforts. The Corsairs came out the gate with a three-pointer to extend their lead. Despite the WildCats' persistence, the Corsairs maintained control with defensive rebounds that led to scoring contributions. Randolph was chipping away at the score from behind the line, however, UMass Dartmouth continued their offensive pressure, leading by 18, 58-40, with 4:30 left. Randolph gained some momentum when Renee Clines, assisted by Stark, and Kaileigh Gunter, assisted by Pabon, hit three-pointers back-to-back, trimming the deficit 46-63. UMass Dartmouth's steady execution from behind the arc, going 4-8 in the quarter, led to the Corsairs' victory.

"They upped their man-to-man pressure in the 2nd half and we didn't handle it well with 11 turnovers in the 2nd half," said Lanpher. "We allowed them to beat us off the dribble too easily and find their shooters with open three's."

Randolph was efficient from the free-throw line going 12-20 (60%) and also fared well on the boards, grabbing 39 total rebounds, 23 defensively, to the Corsairs 36 total rebounds. 

Crenshaw-Patterson led the WildCats with 13 points, five rebounds and four steals. She was 3-5 (60%) from the free-throw line. Jackson followed close behind with 12 points and Pabon had 10 points and six rebounds, and Simone Brown had a season-high of 13 rebounds.

"Simone played a great game off the bench with 13 rebounds and Teniyah led us in scoring and played great on both ends," said Lanpher. "We'll learn from this experience and look to bounce back tomorrow." 

The 'Cats are back in action tomorrow when they face SUNY Oneonta for game two of the Puerto Rico Classic. Game time is set for 3 p.m. ET.