SALEM. Va.- Making just its second ever appearance in the ODAC Quarterfinals, the Randolph women's basketball team faced Shenandoah on Friday afternoon at the Salem Civic Center. Randolph trailed by double digits heading into the final quarter and closed to within a one-possession game late but the Hornets held off the WildCat rally in the end to win 63-57.
Randolph came out firing in the first quarter as it shot over 66% from beyond the three-point arc. Shenandoah led 5-3 with just over eight minutes left in the first quarter. A 9-2 run by the WildCats gave them a 12-7 lead with 6:05 remaining in the period. A 15-6 SU run to end the quarter, however, gave Shenandoah a 22-18 lead at the end of the period.
An Olivia Weinel jumper to start the second quarter gave SU a 24-18 lead. Randolph's 10-0 run, ending with back-to-back three-point baskets by Kylie Stark (Lynchburg, Va./Brookville) and Cierra Cook (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch), swung the lead in the WIldCats' favor and gave them a 28-24 advantage with 6:02 showing on the clock. An 8-0 Shenandoah run gave the Hornets a 32-28 lead with exactly four minutes remaining in the period. The 'Cats closed to within a point, 32-31, with 2:49 left. A jumper by Ragan Johnson to end the half gave SU a 34-31 lead at the break.
Shenandoah converted its first two baskets of the third quarter to go ahead 38-31 with just under nine minutes remaining in the period. It was part of a 12-5 run that gave the Hornets a 46-36 lead with 5:48 showing on the clock. The WildCats were able to close their deficit to six points but the Hornets pushed their lead to 11, 51-40, with 4:05 left in the quarter. After the WildCats made it an eight-point contest at 1:53, layups by Sierra St. Cyr and Weinel gave Shenandoah its biggest lead of the afternoon at 55-43 as the quarter came to a close.
Randolph started chipping away at its deficit to start the fourth quarter. A 14-4 WildCat run spanning over five and half minutes of game time closed the deficit to a single basket,59-57, with 2:04 remaining to play. The Randolph defense forced nine missed Hornet shots and came up with five turnovers. Still trailing by two points with 23 seconds remaining, the WildCats seemingly had the game tied as Cameron O'Neil (Gloucester, Va./Gloucester) went in the lane for a layup but she would called for an offensive foul which gave possession to the Hornets. Weinel converted four free throws in the last 23 seconds to secure the win for Shenandoah.
"So proud of our ladies!" said head coach Steve Lanpher after the game. "Not the outcome we were looking for but down 12 in the 4th quarter, we could have quit but once again we responded. We cut the lead to 2 & had the tying basket taken away on a foul call."
The WildCats shot 21-of-67 (31.3%) from the field and 9-of-25 (36%) from behind the three-point arc. Shenandoah was 25-of-57 (43.9%) overall and just 2-of-8 (25%) in three-point attempts. The Hornets were nearly perfect from the free throw line as they were 11-of-12 (91.7%). Randolph led in rebounds 41-35.
"Just a great effort!, said Lanpher. "I thought we were a little nervous & tentative early and had some unforced turnovers especially in the first half & allowed Shenandoah many second shot opportunities."
Cook led the Wildcats with 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting. She added four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Stark finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Teniyah Crenshaw-Patterson (Newport News, Va./Heritage) contributed 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. O'Neil finished with nine points.
"We accomplished so much this season so this loss will sting but it'll fuel us to continue to improve," noted Lanpher. "We are here to stay as a dangerous and competitive team and will look to strive for greatness."
Randolph concludes its season with a final record of 16-7. Shenandoah advances to tomorrow night's semifinal against Washington and Lee.