LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph women's basketball team faced off against Ferrum in an ODAC First Round matchup at a loud and rowdy Giles Gymnasium on Tuesday evening. It was a defensive battle for three quarters until the offense stepped up in the fourth quarter as the WildCats went on to win 53-42.

With the victory, Randolph advances to the ODAC quarterfinals this coming Friday. It is the third straight year that the WildCats will be playing in Salem, Va. for the quarterfinal round.

Both teams struggled in the first quarter as the score was tied at 5-5. The WildCats led by four points, 11-7, with under seven minutes remaining in the second quarter. Ferrum would close to within one point as Randolph led 13-12 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Randolph started with an 8-2 run to go up 21-14 at 6:05. The Panthers closed to within two points, 22-20, with 47 seconds left until a basket by Brooklyn Finnerty (Lynchburg, Va./Timberlake) gave the 'Cats a 24-20 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

The WildCats used an 8-4 run in the early part of the fourth quarter to increase their lead to seven points, 32-24. The Randolph offense started to finally heat up as it went ahead 37-28 with 3:27 left to play. Ferrum got as close as five points, 40-35, with 2:05 left but the WildCats went on a 13-7 run the rest of the way to pull away for the victory.

"What a great atmosphere for a home playoff game," said head coach Steve Lanpher.  "I think we let the jitters get to us in the first half but our defense kept us in front until the 4th quarter when we finally broke it open."

 Randolph finished the night shooting 17-of-54 (31.5%) from the field. After struggling for the first three quarter, the WIldCats were 8-of-14 (57.1%) in the final period and 4-of-6 (66.7%) from behind the three-point arc. Ferrum controlled the glass with a 37-33 edge. Randolph took advantage of 18 Panther turnovers and turned it into 15 points while the Panthers only scored two points off of nine WildCat turnovers. The nine turnovers marked a season-low for the 'Cats.

 Kylie Stark (Lynchburg, Va./Brookville) led Randolph with 15 points to go with four assists, two rebounds, and one steak. Jessica Jennings (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) added 11 points and three assists.

"I thought Kylie ,Jess and Teniyah supplied us with much of the offense tonight," said Lanpher.  "Even though we struggled to shoot for much of the night, our ball control and security was crucial! I thought Abbie was really active on both ends. Taniya was great off the bench with her defensive pressure and running the point guard position. Both Brooklyn & Simone gave us quality minutes from the post position as well.

 The WildCats will face top seeded Washington and Lee at the Salem Civic Center on Friday. Game time will be at 1:00 p.m.

 "Our goal all year was to get back to Salem so we'll enjoy the win tonight and get ready to play our best basketball on Friday!!!" said Lanpher.