SALEM, VA.- The eighth seeded Randolph women's basketball team faced the top seeded Washington and Lee Generals in the first Quarterfinal of the ODAC Tournament on Friday afternoon. The WildCats only trailed 20-13 after the first quarter but W&L outscored the 'Cats 25-7 in the second quarter as it got out to a big lead that it would not relinquish on its way to an 82-52 victory.
Randolph trailed 6-4 at the 8:21 mark of the first quarter. Washington and Lee went ahead by eight points after making back-to-back three-point baskets. The WildCats came back to close their deficit to four points, 17-13, with exactly one minute remaining in the quarter. W&L's Quinn McGuinness converted an old fashioned three-point play as Washington and Lee took its seven-point lead into the second quarter.
The Generals started the second quarter on a 19-0 run as it broke the game open to go ahead 39-13 with under four minutes remaining in the period. Randolph's first points of the period came from a pair of free throws by Simone Brown (Norfolk, Va./Lake Taylor). The WildCats' first field goal of the quarter came with 1:50 remaining on a jump shot by Kylie Stark (Lynchburg, Va./Brookville).
Randolph outscored W&L 18-16 in the fourth quarter with the game already decided. The WildCats shot 5-of-11 (45.45%) from the field in the first quarter and 6-of-14 (42.9%) in the fourth period.
Overall, Randolph finished the game 18-of-60 (30%) from the field and just 1-of-16 (6.3%) from behind the three-point arc. The WildCats were 15-of-17 (88.2%) from the charity stripe.
"It was a tough day for us," said head coach Steve Lanpher. "The second quarter got away from us but hats off to Washington & Lee as they were running on all cylinders. When they play like that they are extremely tough team to beat!"
In her final game as a WildCat, Jessica Jennings (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) led Randolph with 12 points. Stark added 11 points. Brown and Brooklyn Finnerty (Lynchburg, Va./Timberlake) had a combined 15 rebounds.
The WildCats end their season with a final record of 16-11. They qualified for the ODAC Quarterfinals for three straight seasons for the first time in program history. "We overcame so much this year and I am so proud of what we accomplished!" said Lanpher. "Being able to get advance to Salem for the third straight year truly shows how much our program has improved and progressed."
