ASHLAND, Va. -- The Randolph-Macon women's basketball team topped Methodist, 85-57, on Friday evening in the first round of the RMC Tip-Off Classic.
 
The Yellow Jackets (3-0) shot 45.9 percent from the floor (34-74) including 52.5 percent (21-40) in the second half as they expanded on a 13-point lead at halftime. MU shot 34.0 percent from the field (18-53) and was outrebounded, 46-37.
 
R-MC opened the second half on a 16-4 scoring run to turn what had been a 35-22 game at halftime into a 51-26 lead with 15:20 left in the contest and ease to its third win in as many tries.
 
In the first half, Methodist trailed by a single point (8-7) after a layup by Wylonda Surles at the 13:51 mark. However, Randolph-Macon ripped off a 13-2 scoring run to assume a 21-9 lead on Kareema Conteh's layup at the 9:38 mark. The Monarchs trimmed a 16-point deficit (32-16) to 13 at the break (35-22) with a 6-3 run capped by Ayanna Pegues' free throw with 1:44 on the clock.
 
As a team, Methodist hit 6-of-9 three-point attempts, led by Maria Jones and Monique Lofton who hit two apiece.
 
Alexis Wallace led the Monarchs with 14 points, while Jalisia Campbell added nine and Pegues chipped in eight. Sydney Bryan and Campbell each had seven rebounds, and Jasmine Canady had seven assists to go with five rebounds.
 
Hanna Livermon led R-MC with 19 points, Katie Anderson had 14 and Sarah Parsons added 11. Anderson pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, and Caroline Young had eight to go with six points.
 
The Monarchs will face Bridgewater on Saturday at 2:00 pm.