SALEM, Va.- For the second straight season, the Randolph women's basketball team played an ODAC Quarterfinal game at the Salem Civic Center as the WildCats faced Guilford on Thursday afternoon. Randolph took a lead in the third quarter and held on in the end as they won by the score of 65-59.
The victory is the first for the WildCats in the quarterfinal round at the Salem Civic Center as they advance to Saturday's semifinal for the first time in program history. Randolph will face Washington and Lee, who defeated Ferrum in Thursday's first quarterfinal game.
"I thought our grit and heart was in full display today," said head coach Steve Lanpher after the game. "Defensively, we battled all day long and did a good job contesting Guilford's shot attempts, however we allowed them too many second shots especially in the first half. Typical tournament nerves early but I thought we settled down especially in the second half."
The Quakers led 16-14 after the first quarter of play. Randolph went ahead 23-19 with 6:07 remaining in the second quarter following a layup by Teniyah Crenshaw-Patterson (Newport News, Va./Heritage). Guilford then went on an 8-0 run to go ahead 26-23 with under four minutes left in the second period. Crenshaw-Patterson's layup with 41 seconds remaining cut the GC lead to one point, 26-25, where the score stood at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Quakers jumped ahead 31-25 with 8:12 showing on the game clock. Following a layup by Nadia West (Monroe, Va./Amherst County) to cut the deficit to four points, Guilford responded with a three by Carleigh Perry to go ahead 34-27. A 14-1 run by Randolph spanning just over four minutes of game time gave the WildCats the lead 40-35 with 2:35 left in the period. The WildCat defense forced five missed Quaker shots during that span and four turnovers. Layups by J'La Hinson and Lindsay Gauldin cut the Randolph lead to 40-39 at the conclusion of the quarter.
The WildCat lead was no more than four points for most of the fourth quarter until 3:14 remained when Simone Brown (Norfolk, Va./Lake Taylor) made a layup, was fouled, and converted the free throw to give the 'Cats a five-point advantage. A Gauldin three with 14 ticks left made the score a one-possession game, 61-59. Crenshaw-Patterson was fouled with 11 seconds left and made both free throws to give Randolph a 63-59 lead. Hinson turned the ball over with time winding down and Jessica Jennings (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) made the layup at the buzzer to ice the victory for the 'Cats.
Overall, Randolph was 24-of-51 (47.1%) from the floor. The WildCats turned it on in the second half as they went a combined 14-of-24 (58.3%). The 'Cats were just 3-of-14 (21.4%) from behind the three-point arc and 14-of-24 (58.3%) from the charity stripe. Guilford was 22-of-57 (38.6%) from the floor and 6-of-21 (28.6%) in three-point attempts. The Quakers were 9-of-15 (60%) in free throw attempts.
Guilford did control the boards 39-28. The Quakers' 22 turnovers did lead to 22 points for Randolph to just nine for GC on 15 WildCat miscues. The 'Cats led in the paint 34-30 and received 18 points from their bench to Guilford's nine.
Crenshaw-Patterson led Randolph with a season-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and pulled down a season-best 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. She also had three steals. Jennings added 13 points shooting 6-of-10 shooting, dished out five assists, and came away with four steals. West chipped in 11 points for her second straight double-digit performance. She grabbed three rebounds and blocked two shots. Kylie Stark (Lynchburg, Va./Brookville) scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
"Our depth once again proved to be crucial as Ness and Kylie got in foul trouble but Jess and Ness stepped up," noted Lanpher "Nadia continues to provide us with an inside presence. Jess gave us great energy and an offensive lift once again off the bench. Teniyah was huge as she stepped up with a double-double . Every time we needed a score it seemed like she was able to provide us one."
The WildCats and Generals tipoff at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. This will be the second meeting between the two schools this season. W&L won the last matchup 81-52 on January 24 in Lexington to snap Randolph's 14-game winning streak.