LYNCHBURG, Va. - Randolph women's basketball struggled to keep pace with Lynchburg, falling 76-57 in an ODAC match up on Tuesday night at Turner Gymnasium. The WildCats dropped to 11-13 overall and 6-9 in conference play, while the Hornets improved to 9-14 and 6-10 in ODAC competition.

"Tough night for the WildCats," said head coach Steve Lanpher. "Lynchburg came out on fire from the perimeter and we seemed to be on our heels and a step slow all night!."

Lynchburg took control early in the first quarter with a six-point lead. Simone Brown got the first points for the WildCats with a layup. An 8-3 run extended Lynchburg's lead by nine with 4:36 to go in the quarter. Randolph cut into the deficit with a free throw from Teniyah Crenshaw-Patterson, three-pointer from Imani Hardin, and a layup from Kylie Stark. However, back-to-back three pointers for the Hornets helped maintain their lead, ending the quarter ahead 
20-11.

The second quarter, the two teams continued their offensive pressure. The Hornets were up by 12 with 5:37 to go, leading 31-19. The WildCats cut the lead down to five with efficient rebounding that led to scoring opportunities. The Hornets responded with a 9-1 run to close out the quarter leading 40-27 into halftime.

"I didn't do a good enough job preparing us for their outside shooting," said Lanpher. "They took advantage of our miscues."

Out of the half, the Hornets controlled the tempo to maintain the lead. The Hornets opened with two three-pointers early in the quarter followed by a layup. Renee Clines responded with a three-pointer to keep the 'Cats in the game. Despite turnovers and missed opportunities on both sides, Lynchburg continued to hold the upper hand. Randolph responded with key layups from Lexanna Oge and Stark. However, Lynchburg maintained their momentum and closed the quarter leading 60-48. 

"Offensively, we had opportunities but we struggled knocking down open shots," said Lanpher.

In the final quarter, Lynchburg built on their lead with key plays. Randolph came on strong with Crenshaw-Patterson converting two free throws, followed by a jumper from Stark to cut the deficit to 60-53. A three-pointer followed by a layup from the Hornets kept them ahead but a jumper from Taniya Jackson put the WildCats only down by eight with 5:18 to go. The Hornets closed out the game with a jumper and back-to-back three pointers to push the score to 73-57.

Stark led the WildCats with 16 points, nine rebounds, and six steals, while Crenshaw-Patterson added 14 points, including 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. Clines contributed nine points, hitting two three-pointers. However, Randolph struggled with efficiency, shooting just 31.3% from the field.

"We'll need to push reset and get ready for our game on Saturday," said Lanpher. "It's a must win so our playoffs in essence start Saturday at Virginia Wesleyan! We win or we learn…we need to learn from this setback."

The 'Cats close out the regular season when they travel to Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off.