LYNCHBURG, Va. – Junior Kelsey Wisner (York, Pa. / Central York) went 4-4 from beyond the arc in the first half, while sophomore Kelly Williams (Garysburg, N.C. / Halifax Academy) scored 21 points in a 67-40 Tuesday night win over Randolph in Lynchburg. Randolph-Macon (12-3, 5-2 ODAC) is on a three-game win streak, while Randolph (4-11, 1-6 ODAC) has fallen in its second game in a row.
Randolph-Macon took the early lead as senior Teal Reynolds (Sterling, Va. / Potomac Falls) opened the scoring and junior Jayla Wade (Newport News, Va. / Heritage) added a pair of field goals before Williams added a layup to jump out 9-0. With five minutes to go in the period, Randolph hit its first field goal of the game. The Randolph-Macon defense held the WildCats to that sole jumper in the first quarter as the Yellow Jackets took an 18-2 lead heading into the second period.
Randolph got the first points of the second quarter, but R-MC quickly got its lead back up to 16 with a jumper from Wade. The WildCats put together a 5-0 run leading up to the 7:30 mark; but Wisner hit a three-pointer to take the lead back up to 16 for R-MC. Randolph got the score within ten with 3:59 to go in the quarter, but Wisner hit another three along with a free throw, with Reynolds adding a bucket and freshman Becca Arrington (Amelia, Va. / Amelia Academy) sunk a three – her only points of the game -- to push R-MC to its largest lead thus far – 19 points-- with under :30 to play. R-MC would settle in with a 37-21 lead at the half.
Wisner finished the half with all of the points she'd earn in the game -- 15 – while adding an assist. Sophomore Charlotte Woods (Richmond, Va. / Trinity) led the team in rebounding with six.
Williams opened the third quarter scoring with a basket which extended R-MC's lead to 39-21. That began a 9-2 run over the first four minutes of the third quarter. A Randolph bucket with about five minutes to go in the period launched another 5-0 run for R-MC that gave the Yellow Jackets their largest lead of the night –26 points. Randolph ended the period on a 6-2 run, but R-MC still had the comfortable lead going into the final frame of play at 53-31.
Randolph and R-MC traded baskets for much of the first four minutes of action in the fourth quarter. Then, with 5:46 to go in the period, Williams hit a layup that began an 8-2 run that would close out the game and push Randolph-Macon ahead for the win 67-40.
In addition to her 21 points, Williams pulled in 16 rebounds and dished out two assists while also being credited with a block. Along with Wisner, Reynolds tallied 15 points as well. Wisner added six blocks and a pair of both assists and rebounds. Reynolds pulled in five rebounds, sent out four assists and stole the ball three times. Wade finished with 11 points and dished out three assists and took away three steals. Woods completed the game with two points as well as ten rebounds, a block, a steal and an assist.
Randolph-Macon scored 28 points off Randolph's 29 turnovers. The Yellow Jackets also scored 23 points off second chance opportunities.
The win marks Head Coach Carroll LaHaye's 599th win of her career. She has coached the Yellow Jackets since the 1982-83 season, spanning 36 seasons.
Randolph-Macon returns to Lynchburg to face Lynchburg College on Saturday. The game begins at 2:00 PM inside Turner Gymnasium.