LYNCHBURG, Va. – Guilford College’s Amy Steller (Advance, N.C./Davie/Pfeiffer) led all scorers with 17 points as the Quakers claimed a Wednesday evening Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) victory over Randolph College, 70-62. With the win, the Quakers eclipse the 20-win mark overall for the fifth time in six seasons.
Both sides were even, 4-4, after the first four minutes of the first quarter and tied four more times in the period. Both sides sunk four baskets in the period as Randolph (11-13, 6-9 ODAC) held an advantage on the offensive glass, 5-3, and shot 22.2 percent compared to Guilford’s 36.4 percent. Randolph forced six turnovers in the period while the Quakers forced three.
Randolph claimed a three-point lead 3:31 into the second quarter, but then the Quakers (20-3, 13-2 ODAC) mounted an 8-0 run over the next 5:03 and held Randolph without a basket for the remainder of the period. The run extended to 11-1 as the Quakers took a seven-point lead into halftime. The Quakers only shot 27.3 percent for the period while holding the WildCats to just two field goals. The Quakers forced seven Randolph turnovers while committing only two of their own in the period, forcing five steals in the quarter. The Quakers amassed points from the foul line as Guilford shot six-of-eight while Randolph only shot one-for-two.
Lauren Ramsey (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) made Guilford’s first two baskets of the third quarter, scoring ten consecutive points since the team’s last points in the second period, as Guilford’s lead grew as large as ten points. Guilford’s largest lead grew to 12 points twice in the period, but Randolph climbed back, producing a 9-2 run in the last two minutes before Steller made a lay-up at the last second to break the run. The Quakers shot eight-of-12 for the period compared to Randolph’s seven-of-15.
Steller scored the first five points of the fourth quarter for the Quakers as their lead grew back to ten 2:05 into the period. Steller amassed nine of Guilford first 11 points in the period through five minutes. The WildCats shrunk the lead down to eight with 3:35 left, but the Quakers stuck to the lead, extending the advantage back to 12 points with 2:39 left. Essence Abraham scored nine points in the period as the Quakers shot 58.3 percent for the quarter compared to 26.3 for Randolph. The WildCats sunk nine foul shots to Guilford’s eight.
Steller shot seven-of-13 while pulling down six rebounds to lead the Quakers. Ramsey finished with 14 points on six-of-ten shooting while Abraham came off the bench to score 14 points with three assists and three steals. Heaven Walters (Elkin, N.C./Starmount) added 11 points on just nine-of-ten shooting from the foul line. She also totaled seven rebounds and four assists.
Alexis Calloway came off the bench to lead the WildCats with 15 points and 12 rebounds while Korin added with 13 points on two-of-13 shooting and nine-of-11 shooting from the foul line.
Guilford finished shooting 47.8 percent compared to Randolph’s 28.6 percent. The WildCats out-rebounded the Quakers, 41-35, on the power of 22 offensive rebounds compared to just nine for Guilford and beat the Quakers in second-chance points, 19-6. Guilford held a 24-20 edge in the paint while the WildCats held a slight 15-13 edge in points-off-turnovers.
The Quakers wrap up the regular season Saturday, traveling to Washington and Lee University for a 2 p.m. ODAC contest.