For immediate release – 2/3/2012 - #211
Defense Fuels LC Women's Basketball Win Over Randolph

LYNCHBURG, VA – The Lynchburg College women's basketball team defeated cross-town rival Randolph College 57-37, in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action Friday night.

LC controlled the game from the opening tip, jumping out to a 12-2 lead and pushing that tally to 17 points by the half.  In the second period, it was more of the same as the Hornets cruised to a 20-point victory, with freshman Shannon Allan leading the way.  The wing finished as the only double-digit scorer in the game with 21 points.  She also contributed six rebounds and four blocks.

Defense reigned supreme in the contest, especially in the first stanza as the Hornets held the Randolph to only 13 points in the half.  The WildCats shot 24% from the field on 6-24 shooting and Lynchburg forced them  into committing two shot-clock violations.  The WildCats also had 13 turnovers in the half.  Randolph played solid defense early on, not allowing LC to register a made field goal until 14:30 left in the half.  However, Allan then caught fire scoring 12 points, which included two makes from behind the arc.

The second half was similar to the first, as Randolph was again held to 24% shooting from the floor, again hitting only six shots.  The Hornets forced the WildCats into committing 22 turnovers for the game.  Caleigh Patterson led Lynchburg's defense throughout the game.  The sophomore forward did a great job in the post defensively and took two charges in the game, as well.

Brianna Lowry and Bonnie Bishop each finished with nine points for the WildCats (3-17 overall, 0-15 ODAC).  Chelsea Tyler led Randolph in rebounding, grabbing six on the night.

Lynchburg College also hosted Special Olympics Night on Friday.  Teams from Campbell County and the City of Lynchburg attended and played a half-court game during the intermission.  Donations were collected throughout the game for the Special Olympics.  "It is very important for us to reach out to the community, like we did tonight with the Special Olympics," said head coach Abby Pyzik. "We peeked out and watched a little from the locker room at halftime and it was a great opportunity to have them on campus."   

Lynchburg (6-13, 5-9) heads to Hollins University on Saturday.  The huge ODAC match-up should go a long way towards tournament seeding as Hollins sits in sixth place with the Hornets two spots back in the eighth and final spot.

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