LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph women's basketball team hosted Washington and Lee in their ODAC regular season finale on Wednesday night at Giles Gymnasium. The WildCats recovered from an early deficit to challenge the Generals but W&L came out on top in the end with a 74-65 victory.
Randolph's overall record drops to 14-10 overall and 8-10 in conference play. The first place Generals improve to 22-2 overall and 16-1 in the ODAC.
Washington and Lee got out ahead 11-0 to start the first quarter. The Generals would go on to lead 20-9 at the conclusion of the period. In the second quarter, Randolph still trailed by double-digits but was able to keep it at 11 points, 41-30, at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Generals led by as much as 21 points, 52-31, with 6:03 remaining in the quarter. A 14-5 Randolph run closed the gap to 12 points, 57-45, with 1:39 showing on the game clock.
Trailing by 16 points with 6:35 left in regulation, the WildCats went on a 9-2 run to close to within nine points, 68-59, with 4:01 remaining. After the Generals went up by 13 points, Randolph made it a seven-point contest with 1:11 left to play. The Generals made a pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds to ice the game.
"Proud of our collective effort tonight," said head coach Steve Lanpher. "We got down early but continued to battle and for the most part I thought we outplayed W&L for the final three quarters. Unfortunately, spotting them 11 early proved to be too much."
Randolph shot 24-of-69 (34.8%) from the floor and were 8-of-17 (47.1%) from behind the three-point arc which matched a season-high. The Generals were 25-of-60 (41.7%) overall and 11-of-26 (42.3%) in three-point attempts. W&L led in rebounds 45-38. Both teams were even in points in the paint 24-24. Randolph led 25-10 in bench points.
Cameron O'Neil (Gloucester, Va./Gloucester) scored a career-high 18 points and made a career-best six three-point baskets. Kylie Stark (Lynchburg, Va./Brookville) added 11 points. Natalie Clark (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River) finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Abbie Baker (Salem, Va./Patrick Henry) added eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.
"Nat was a great spark off the bench," noted Lanpher. "She has been struggling shooting the ball so it was nice to see her first couple of shots go down. I thought our Posts, especially Abbie & Brooklyn, battled all night long and really gave us quality minutes on both ends."
The WildCats finish up the regular season at home on Saturday as they host Regent. Game time will be at 4:30 p.m.
