LYNCHBURG, Va. Taking on the Randolph College Wildcats, the Methodist women's basketball team delivered a competitive performance before ultimately falling just short in a 59–51 contest on Friday evening. The Monarchs were led by sophomore
Kayleen Grullon, who produced a career-high 16 points while shooting 7-for-15 from the field.
JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Randolph def. Methodist, 59–51
Records: Methodist 2–5, Randolph 4–4
Location: Frances and Don Giles Gymnasium; Lynchburg, Virginia
HOW IT HAPPENED
A tight first quarter saw the Monarchs score first with a layup made by
Jada Richardson. With Methodist up 6–3, Randolph produced a 7–0 run to go ahead 10–6. A jumper by Grullon and a pair of free throws made by
Nyleiah White tied the score at 10–10, but the Wildcats scored five of the last seven points in the quarter, sinking their third basket from behind the arc along the way.
Randolph began the second quarter on a 7–1 run, making the difference nine points. However, across the final seven minutes of the period, the Wildcats were held scoreless from the field, scoring the remainder of their points at the free-throw line. During that stretch, the Wildcats were 0-for-3 on field goals with five turnovers while shooting 6-for-10 at the charity stripe. The Monarchs didn't get to the free-throw line at all but made five of their final nine shots from the floor (while committing seven turnovers in the process), making the halftime score 28–23 in favor of Randolph.
Methodist scored the first three buckets of the second half (two points for
Taylor Watford and four for Grullon) to take the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter. After seven lead changes throughout the quarter, the Monarchs found themselves down by five (45–40) heading into the fourth.
With Randolph leading 55–46 with under four minutes remaining,
Kayleen Grullon hit a big triple to cut the difference to six, but the Monarchs ran out of time to pull back level with the Wildcats.
MORE TO IT
The Monarchs scored more points from the field than Randolph but lost the free-throw margin by 15. Methodist committed 23 fouls to put the Wildcats at the line for a total of 33 attempts, of which they made 19.
Grullon's career night included seven of the team's 11 points in the fourth quarter. She also matched her career high in assists with three, which led the team. Grullon was supported by
Korin Gladden, who went 6-for-7 from the field in a 12-point effort. Richardson and
Giavonna Dunlap each recorded a team-high seven rebounds, which was a career best for Dunlap.
UP NEXT
Methodist will play its third consecutive road game on Tuesday, Dec. 16 with a 2 p.m. tipoff at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
