LYNCHBURG, Va.- It was a night of firsts for the Randolph women's basketball team as they hosted first place in the ODAC Washington and Lee on Wednesday night at Giles Gymnasium. The WildCats hung with the Generals all game long and were able to come out with a big 70-63 victory. The WildCat win is the first over the Generals since the 2016-2017 season and ends a seven-game winless streak to W&L.

With the win, Randolph improves to 14-5 overall and 9-4 in the ODAC. Both the 14 overall wins and nine ODAC wins are program records. W&L drops to 14-4 overall and suffers their first lost in conference play to drop to11-1.

"What an effort by our entire squad!," stated head coach Steve Lanpher.  "I thought we took care of the basketball the entire night and took quality shots.  We battled on the boards and defended well allowing us to come away with the victory." 

A pair of jumpers by Cameron O'Neil (Gloucester, Va./Gloucester) started things off for the WildCats as they led 4-0 in the game's opening minutes. Washington and Lee came back to tie the game at 4-all with under seven minutes remaining and it would be the first of four ties in the quarter. The WildCats led by as much as five points, 19-14, with 1:32 left before W&L got a layup with 39 seconds remaining to make it 19-16.

Washington and Lee took a 20-19 lead at 8:23 of the second quarter. Randolph used a 12-2 run to take its biggest lead of evening, 31-22, with 5:32 showing on the clock. The Generals scored back-to-back three-point baskets to trail 31-28 with 4:15 left. The score remained that way for almost three minutes of game time as both teams struggled to get a basket. The 'Cats broke the scoring drought as Teniyah Crenshaw-Patterson's (Newport News, Va./Heritage) jumper with 1:18 remaining gave Randolph a 33-28 lead. Washington and Lee got a layup with 44 seconds left to leave the score at 33-30 in the WildCats' favor at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Generals would tie and then take the lead at 38-37 with 6:33 showing on the clock. A 9-0 run by the WildCats put Randolph up 46-38 with under three minutes remaining. Randolph was still ahead by seven points, 47-40, with 1:38 on the clock but Washington and Lee pushed ahead with an 8-0 run to lead 48-47 heading into the fourth quarter.

The lead changed four times in the first six minutes of the fourth period. The Generals led 63-59 with 3:20 remaining to play. An 11-0 run by Randolph, however, put the WildCats on top for good as they held the Generals scoreless for the remainder of the quarter.

Randolph shot 28-of-60 (46.7%) overall which was their best shooting performance since the season opener in November. The 'Cats were 3-of-8 in three point shots and their 37.5 shooting percentage tied their season-best. The WildCats also performed well from the charity stripe as they were 11-of-15 (73.3%).

Crenshaw-Patterson scored 23 points to lead the WildCats and added six rebounds. Kylie Stark (Lynchburg, Va./Brookville) scored 15 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Cierra Cook chipped in 13 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Yanessa Cabrera had a final line of five points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

"Yanessa played a great floor game and was spectacular on the defensive end," noted Lanpher.  "Teniyah continues to shine and probably played her most impressive game offensively as she led us in scoring. Kylie was limited somewhat with foul trouble but still recorded 15 points as she was relentless on both ends.  Cierra was great on both ends and really played with poise and confidence in the fourth quarter. I'm really proud of our freshman post trio of Simone/Nadia and Nafi as they were a huge presence on both ends as they collectively scored eight pts and grabbed 10 rebounds."  

Randolph's game scheduled for this Saturday at Bridgewater has been postponed. No rescheduled date has been determined yet. The WildCats' next game will be next Wednesday night at home against Ferrum. Game time will be at 7:00 p.m. and is the team's Play 4 Kay game.

"We talked about making this game a milestone victory and it was as we claimed our 14th win of the season which is the most ever in a single season for Randolph Women's Basketball," said Lanpher.  "Our team motto is "NoCeilingNewHeights" so we'll enjoy this win for a day and then get back to work.  Our best is still yet to come."