College Women’s Basketball Final – Guilford 66, Randolph-Macon 63

ASHLAND, Va. – Anais Weatherly (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) achieved her second 23-point effort in consecutive nights as Guilford College claimed a key Thursday evening Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) victory over Randolph-Macon College, 66-63. This contest, originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon, was moved up in order to avoid the impending winter weather expected across the mid-Atlantic states.

The Quakers (14-2, 8-1 ODAC) pulled out to a 13-5 lead to open the game’s first 5:11 and held on to their eight-point lead in the first quarter even as the Yellow Jackets (8-8, 4-4 ODAC) cut the deficit down to five points on multiple occasions. Guilford’s lead extended to 13 points as Weatherly opened the second quarter with the Quakers’ first five points of the period. Essence Abraham (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley capped a 10-0 run spanning 4:48 over multiple periods to give Guilford their largest lead, 28-12. The Yellow Jackets countered quickly with a 10-0 run of their own over a 2:22 span as Randolph-Macon closed within three points of the Quakers to enter halftime.

Randolph-Macon concluded an 11-0 run early in the third quarter, scoring the period’s first five points. The Yellow Jackets opened the period sinking four of their first five three-point attempts, including the first three shots, to claim a five-point lead. The Yellow Jackets extended their lead as large as seven with 1:24 left in the period before Abraham sunk three free throws to conclude the period. Those free throws ignited a 12-0 run, lasting a 5:14 span over both quarters of the second half, that brought the advantage back in the Quakers’ favor by three points. Both sides would trade small runs for most of the fourth quarter, keeping the Quakers’ advantage within one possession. With the Quakers shooting five-of-six from the foul line in the final 1:48 of the period, the Quakers distanced themselves from the Yellow Jackets to seal the win.

Weatherly shot nine-of-16 from the field in her 23-point performance while adding nine rebounds. Abraham came off the bench to score 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds while Lauren Ramsey (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) added 14 points on five-of-ten shooting.

Katie Anderson and Kelsey Wisner led Randolph-Macon with 14 points each with Anderson also pulling down nine rebounds.

The Quakers shot 38.2 percent from the field, including a strong 63.6 percent effort in the closing period. Randolph-Macon shot 29.2 percent, having been held to 18.8 percent first-quarter shooting, but lifted by a 40-percent effort in the third quarter. Guilford shot 17-of-19 from the foul line while Randolph-Macon posted a 12-of-18 effort from the charity stripe.

Guilford held a narrow 47-43 rebounding margin over Randolph-Macon, and held the edge, 26-20, in the paint. The Yellow Jackets held the advantage in second-chance points, 16-13.

The Quakers, currently claiming first place in the ODAC, will rest for the weekend before they host second-place Lynchburg College Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. inside Ragan-Brown Field House.