LEXINGTON, Ky. --- Randolph-Macon Women's Basketball upset the ninth-ranked team in the nation Friday night, advancing through the First Round of the NCAA Tournament and setting up a rematch with a familiar foe and another ranked opponent tomorrow night. R-MC earned the win on the home floor and hosts, the Transylvania Pioneers. Four Yellow Jackets were in double-figures on the night as the Yellow Jackets trailed very few minutes in the contest.

THE BASICS

• Score: Randolph-Macon 78, #9 Transylvania 68
• Location/Venue: Lexington, Ky./Beck Center
• Records: Randolph-Macon (19-9), Transylvania (25-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In what would be foreshadowing for her night, junior Becca Arrington (Amelia, Va. / Amelia Academy) made the first shot of the game. It would end up being the first of ten field goals for her as she surpassed her career high. Throughout the first period though, both teams struggled to get their offenses going, though R-MC had a significantly better quarter, shooting 43% from the field on 16 shots. Transy managed just three field goals, shooting 16.7% as R-MC's defense stifled the Pioneers. R-MC had the 15-9 lead after the first frame.
• Early in the second, Transylvania pulled with three at 16-19, but R-MC pushed ahead for five straight points. Transylvania again mounted a comeback, pulling within one before a layup by sophomore Aimee DeBell (Studley, Va. / Saint Gertrude) gave R-MC some breathing room at 26-23. Transylvania never could get closer than two and R-MC headed into halftime with the 34-27 lead.
• An 8-0 run out of halftime gave Transylvania its first lead of the game with 7:53 to go in the third period. R-MC used a timeout to resettle its strategy and came out of the conversation with a three-pointer by Arrington to return the lead to the Yellow Jackets. After a tight battle to 41-41, R-MC scored a 5-2 run, which helped keep R-MC ahead by enough that Transylvania didn't climb back in front for the rest of the period. R-MC had the 49-48 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
• Where the first quarter was marked mainly by defensive play, the offenses came alive in the fourth period. Senior Michal Ross (Glen Allen, Va. / Glen Allen) scored four in a row and Arrington added three more over the first two minutes of the frame, giving R-MC a 56-50 lead. Transy tallied a three on the next possession to cut the Yellow Jackets lead to three and got as close as two at 61-63 around the 5:00 mark, a 9-2 run helped put the game out of reach as Arrington tallied four points and Ross and senior Kelly Williams each had two in the sequence. Arrington had the last four points and tallied 11 for the period as the Yellow Jackets won 78-68.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Arrington blew past her old career-high of 19, tallying 24 points in tonight's game. She also had seven rebounds, second-most on the team as well as an assist and three steals.
• Ross grabbed 17 points and forced three steals as well as three assists.
• Williams had her 21st double-double of the year with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
• Sophomore Cheridan Hatfield (Fishersville, Va. / Wilson Memorial) scored 11 and added a pair of assists and six rebounds.
• Sophomore Aimee DeBell (Studley, Va. / Saint Gertrude) grabbed eight points and four rebounds in a solid night off the bench.
• The Yellow Jackets shot 47% from the floor and 70% from the floor.

UP NEXT

R-MC will have to take one jump up in the Division III Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll for tomorrow's opponent -- R-MC faces #8 Oglethorpe in a rematch of a contest from back in November. The Stormy Petrels downed R-MC 73-53 at the Comfort Suites Classic, hosted by Emory & Henry. The Wasps remain the Stormy Petrels' only loss of the season.