ASHLAND, Va. - Freshman Kelly Williams (Garysburg, N.C./Halifax Academy) scored a game-high 21 points and junior Amber Lee (Rockville, Va./Patrick Henry) added 14 as the fifth-seeded Randolph-Macon women's basketball team defeated No. 12 Hollins 65-44 Tuesday evening in Crenshaw Gymnasium in the first round of the 2017 ODAC Tournament.
The Yellow Jackets (15-11) advance to face fourth-seeded Eastern Mennonite in the quarterfinals of the ODAC Tournament on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the Salem Civic Center. Hollins finishes its season at 5-21.
Williams was 8 for 9 from the floor and hit five free throws. She also grabbed eight rebounds. Lee had six baskets and a pair of free throws. She pulled down eight caroms and paced the victors with five steals and two blocks.
R-MC scored the first 13 points of the game, with Lee tallying nine. The R-MC defense held HU scoreless for the first 6:47 of the contest. HU ended the period on a 9-5 run and the Yellow Jackets led 18-9 after one quarter. Lee led all scorers with 11 points.
The Yellow Jackets started the second period with a 9-0 spurt, with two buckets by both Williams and junior Kareema Conteh (Riverdale, Md./Parkdale), as the lead grew to 27-9 three minutes into the quarter. R-MC would outscore HU 22-13 in the period, taking a 40-22 lead at intermission. Williams had nine points in the second quarter to give her 12 in the half, matching the total of Lee. The Yellow Jackets shot 64% from the floor in the first half (18 of 28) and 82% from inside the arc (18 of 22). Freshman Charlotte Woods (Richmond, Va./Trinity) paced R-MC with six first-half rebounds. Senior Taylor Intermill (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) had six assists in the first half and sophomore Kelsey Wisner (York, Pa./Central York) dished out four.
Hollins started the third quarter on an 8-4 run to narrow the deficit to 44-30 with 6:16 left in the period. R-MC scored nine straight points to take a 53-30 lead with 2:35 remaining in the quarter. HU scored six consecutive points before sophomore Deja Dennis (Owings Mills, Md./Western Tech) hit a pair of free throws with 9.9 seconds left as the Yellow Jackets led 55-36 after three quarters.
R-MC started the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to push the advantage to 27 at 65-38 with 3:45 remaining before claiming the 65-44 victory.
Woods finished with seven rebounds, including three offensive.
Intermill registered seven assists, while Wisner added five.