57
Randolph RAND 16-7,10-5 ODAC
63
Winner Shenandoah Univ. SUW 20-5,13-5 ODAC
Randolph RAND
16-7,10-5 ODAC
57
Final
63
Shenandoah Univ. SUW
20-5,13-5 ODAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Randolph RAND 18 13 12 14 57
Shenandoah Univ. SUW 22 12 21 8 63
SUWBB ODAC QF vs Randolph

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Sydney Anderson, Assistant Athletics Communications Director

Women's Basketball Advances to ODAC Semifinals

No 4 SU avenged a regular season loss to No. 5 Randolph with a 63-57 quarterfinal win.

SALEM, VA. - The No. 4 Shenandoah University women's basketball team advanced to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals after defeating No. 5 Randolph College in the tournament quarterfinals Friday afternoon. 

Shenandoah (20-5) hit the 20-win mark for just the second time in program history by scoring more than 20 points in the first and third quarters and avenging a 76-45 regular season loss to the WildCats (17-7). 

THE RUNDOWN

The 'Cats strong performance from beyond the arc kept the game close. Randolph made 9-of-25 "3's", six of which came in the first half. The opening 20 minutes had eight lead changes and three tied scores.

The Hornets offense was rolling early on, shooting 9-of-21 and 6-of-11 in the first half, giving the four seed a 34-31 advantage heading to the locker room. 

Head Coach Melissa Smeltzer-Kraft's squad came out of the break shooting 9-of-15, a combined 51 percent in the first three quarters of the contest to extend the lead to 12.

Entering into the fourth quarter with the 12-point advantage, Randolph got itself back in it with a 14-4 run to start the last frame. 

The streak, extending from 7:50 to the 2:04 mark, capped by a Cierra Cook three-pointer, brought the 'Cats to within two. 

Shenandoah's performance from the floor went cold during the stretch, draining just 1-of-7 and a pair of free throws while committing four turnovers. 

Fortunately for Hornet fans, Randolph was forced to foul in the waning moments of the contest, sending the ODAC's leader in free-throws to the line each time. Olivia Weinel went a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to clinch the victory and send SU to the tournament semi-finals for the second time in the past four years. 

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Our leadership and experience on the court helped push us through to the next round through the cold spell in the fourth quarter. I am proud of our team defense, specifically Brooke Riley and Sierra St. Cyr held Randolph's leading scorer, Kylie Stark, to just 12 points today, to include a scoreless second half." – Head Coach Melissa Smeltzer-Kraft.

STATS OF THE DAY 
  • Weinel led all scorers with 22 points with classmate Ragan Johnson adding 16. Those two women were perfect from the free throw line, going 6-for-6 and 4-for-4, respectively.
  • Sarah Sondrol provided an offensive spark when called upon in the first quarter, scoring seven of Shenandoah's 22 points. Sondrol ended the day with 10 points total.
  • Despite getting into foul trouble early, St. Cyr added eight points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. The Hornets were +17 while she was on the court.

NOTABLE
Tonight's win puts the 2021-2022 team one game behind the 1987-88 squad record of 21 wins. 

UP NEXT
Shenandoah plays No. 1 Washington & Lee at 6 p.m. Saturday night the first semi-final round contest.

###
Print Friendly Version

Related Headlines