SALEM, Va.- The Randolph women's basketball team concluded its regular season on Saturday afternoon as it faced Roanoke at the Cregger Center. The WildCats had the edge on the Maroons for the majority of the game but RC came back to score a late layup in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to pull away with a 66-63 win.
The WildCats went on top of the Maroons 7-2 in the early goings of the first quarter but Roanoke would recover to take the lead and go up 12-9 with 3:04 left in the period. The 'Cats ended the quarter on a 9-4 run to lead 18-16.
Randolph led throughout the second quarter. The WildCat lead at one point grew to eight points, 30-22, with 5:07 showing on the game clock. Roanoke would close the gap to two points at 3:23 and then tied the contest up at 32-all with 1:49 remaining in the quarter. The WildCats went into the locker room ahead 38-34 after a three by Cameron O'Neil (Gloucester, Va./Gloucester).
Roanoke quickly tied it up at 38-38 less than two minutes into the third quarter. Randolph grabbed the lead back after a layup by Yanessa Cabrera (Manassas, Va./Stonewall Jackson) but the Maroons tied it up again. The WildCats used a 9-1 run to take a 49-41 lead with 3:10 on the clock. RC got to with three points of tying it up again but a pair of free throws by Teniyah Crenshaw-Patterson (Newport News, Va./Heritage) gave the WildCats a 51-46 lead going into the final quarter of play.
The WildCat lead grew to seven points, 57-50, with 6:06 to go in the fourth quarter. Roanoke was able to whittle its deficit down to a point, 60-59, with 1:03 remaining to play. Crenshaw-Patterson's layup upped the 'Cat lead to three points with 45 seconds left. A jumper by the Maroon's Whitney Hopson got Roanoke to within a point and after a steal of a Kylie Stark (Lynchburg, Va./Brookville) pass, Hopson's layup put RC ahead 63-62 with eight seconds left. Crenshaw-Patterson made the first of two free throws to tie the game with three seconds remaining to play. After the miss of the second attempt, Roanoke pulled down the rebound. Lauren Keel scored the winning basket and then converted a free throw after a foul on Stark.
"Obviously it's a tough ending for us today but I am proud of our effort," said head coach Steve Lanpher after the game. "We outplayed Roanoke for most of the game but unfortunately made some costly mistakes in the 4th quarter. This will sting a bit but it will make us stronger & better."
Randolph shot 23-of-68 (33.8%) from the field and 4-of-17 (23.5%) in three-point baskets. The WildCats were 13-of-18 (72.2%) from the charity stripe. Randolph led in rebounds 45-38.
Stark and Crenshaw-Patterson both scored 21 points to lead Randolph. Stark added seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals while Crenshaw-Patterson's 12 rebounds led the team for her third double-double of the season. She also blocked three shots. O'Neil contributed 12 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Simone Brown (Norfolk, Va./Lake Taylor) grabbed eight rebounds. Cierra Cook (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) dished out five assists on the day.
"Great effort by Kylie & Teniyah leading us in scoring with 21 pts," noted Lanpher. "We also had some great play off the bench by Nafi & especially Madi who stepped in and held our zone down."
Randolph drops to 16-6 overall and 12-5 in the ODAC. Roanoke improves to 20-5 overall and 15-3 in the conference.
The WildCats now prepare for the upcoming ODAC Tournament next weekend. Randolph is the fifth seed and will play in the Salem Civic Center for just the second time in program history. The 'Cats will face fourth-seeded Shenandoah on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
"Disappointed in the loss but I know we'll respond correctly, learn from this and our attention & focus will be on moving on to Salem!," said Lanpher.