RANDOLPH - A little more than a month ago the Randolph Lady Cardinals traveled to Salamanca and needed a few clutch baskets to hold on for a three-point victory over the Lady Warriors.
No such heroics were needed when Randolph hosted Salamanca in a rematch Thursday night.
The Lady Cardinals opened up a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter and steadily increased their advantage throughout the rest of the game, coasting to a 66-22 Division 2 victory.
What a difference a month makes.
In their Dec. 14 matchup, Randolph opened up a 29-17 halftime lead, but scored just three points in the third quarter and had its advantage trimmed to one point late in the fourth before earning the 46-43 victory.
This time around Salamanca was without starting point guard Keely Watt.
''That makes a big difference,'' Randolph coach Shawn Huntington said. ''When you lose someone like that who you're used to having run your offense you're going to take a hit.
''But we're getting our rebounding going and people are starting to step up. McKenna (Maycock) is going to be there but teams are going to start taking her out and the other girls are more than capable of keeping the flow going. I've been preaching it and they're finally doing it.''
Maycock again led the way for the Lady Cardinals, scoring 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds, nine assists, six steals and two blocks, but several of her teammates made big contributions as well. Megan Steward came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers and score 16 points; Peyton Terrette had seven points and four assists; Mandy Finch had six points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks and Megan Farmer had six points and five rebounds.
''They've got a good team and what happened tonight is their other kids contributed more than they have in the past,'' Salamanca coach Pete Weishan said. ''They rebounded the ball really well. They just killed us on the boards. But their other people stepped up for them tonight.''
Shae Smith and McKayla Sluga had seven points and four rebounds each for the Lady Warriors, who made just eight field goals in the game.
''We're not a great-shooting team but we didn't shoot well tonight,'' Weishan said. ''We shot worse than usual. We didn't shoot the ball, we threw the ball at the basket.''
Randolph got a buzzer-beating jumper by Makenzie Marsh to take a 16-6 lead after the opening period and increased its lead to 34-12 by halftime behind seven second-quarter points from Maycock.
The Lady Cardinals made sure there was no Salamanca comeback this time around, outscoring the Lady Warriors 22-4 in the third quarter to take a 56-16 lead. Steward scored 10 straight points during a 16-0 run that closed the period.
''She's been coming off the bench for me and really doing some good things, hitting some big shots at crucial points of the game,'' Huntington said.
In the fourth quarter, Salamanca got back-to-back baskets for the first time all game, but Randolph scored the final eight points to close out the game.
''We just didn't have it tonight,'' Weishan said. ''We had a nice four-game winning streak going but we can't lose any players because we're really thin as it is.''
Huntington, on the other hand, hopes to see his team continue to get deeper as more players contribute.
''It's a marathon and I've always coached that way,'' Huntington said. ''It's not about who is winning right now, it's about who wins at the end.''
SALAMANCA (22)
Smith 3 1 7, Sluga 2 3 7, Coustenis 1 2 4, Hill 2 0 4, Huffman 0 0 0, Capron 0 0 0, Miller 0 0 0, Totals 8 6 22.
RANDOLPH (66)
Maycock 9 2 21, France 2 0 4, Terrette 3 1 7, Fisher 3 0 6, Finch 2 2 6, Marsh 2 0 4, Steward 6 1 16, Farmer 1 0 2, Totals 28 6 66.
3-point goals: Steward 3, Maycock.
Salamanca 6 6 4 6 - 22
Randolph 16 18 22 10 - 66
Jayvees: Randolph won