[Women's Basketball] Lady Knights edge out close win at Randolph

LYNCHBURG, Va. - The St. Andrews University women's basketball team closed out their fifth win of the season in their last game of 2017 by edging Div. III Randolph College (Va.) 69-66 on the road Saturday afternoon.

Randolph got out to a strong start in the first quarter getting out to a 25-17 lead on the Knights. However, SAU then came back with a strong second quarter holding the Cats to just 7 points and outscoring them 16-7 to take a 33-32 halftime edge.

The Knights then came out in the second half to win a close third quarter 14-13 before also edging Randolph 22-21 in the fourth for the 3 point win.

SAU finished the game shooting just 41.5 percent overall but just 13 percent from three-point range as they struggled shooting long-range throughout. SAU, however, outscored the Wildcats 36-34 in the second half. Randolph finished the game shooting 38 percent overall and 27 percent from three while making 77 percent of their free throws which helped keep them in the game.

SAU forced 23 Wildcat turnovers while gaining 10 steals and pulling down 46 rebounds to also outrebound the Wildcats 46-36 while leading in offensive board with 19 as well.

Fellow freshman forward Morgan Perkins (FR/Florence, SC) led the Knights with 19 points along with 7 rebounds, a block, a steal and an assist while fellow freshman Kylie Winchell (FR/Morehead City, NC) set a career high with 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting along with 5 rebounds.

Junior guard Kayla Clifton (JR/Hampton, VA) also played well scoring 9 points with 5 rebounds and 3 steals while freshman forward Aquera Johnson (FR/Longs, SC) finished with 8 points, a team-high 14 rebounds and a team-high four steals with 2 assists.

Sophomore point guard Courtney Rowe (SO/Sand Rock, AL) also finished with a season high of 10 assists, along with 8 points, 2 rebounds, a block and a steal while senior forward Ellen Dukes (SR/Augusta, GA) finished with 8 points and 9 rebounds as she kept up her consistent play.

SAU improves to 5-7 overall with their second non-conference win of the season while Randolph falls to 3-7 overall.  

The Lady Knights will now remain on the road for an exhibition game against Div. I foe North Carolina A&T on Tuesday at 5:30 PM. SAU will then get back into conference play on Thursday when they go to Columbia to face Allen Univ. at 5:30.