After the Cougars led 6-3 following the opening quarter, Randolph put together a 22-6 second quarter to take a 13-point lead into halftime.

“We played (Thursday) night. Going back to back is always tough. We knew the legs aren’t always there,” Randolph head coach David Pihlblad said. “We didn’t come out great at all with 3 points in the first quarter.”

Freshman Ava Sears led the Cardinals with 17 points to go along with six steals while senior Gianna Bowles had 9 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals in the win.

After a sloppy first quarter that saw the teams combine for 4-of-24 shooting and 12 turnovers, Randolph took control of the game.

Randolph’s Ava Sears puts up a shot ahead of Cassadaga Valley’s Breonna Hopkins in CCAA D3 action on Friday. Photo courtesy of Mike Frame

Bowles’ lone 3-pointer of the game tied it at 8-all with 6:28 remaining in the first half and then Bowles hit a pair of free throws to give the Cardinals a lead they would never relinquish. An 11-0 Randolph run wasn’t stopped until Breonna Hopkins scored with 2:50 left in the second quarter.

The Cardinals then opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run as the Cougars did not score in the second half until Payton Meder’s free throw with 2:59 left in the period.

“The girls made some nice adjustments. The second quarter and third quarter was some really good basketball for us,” Pihlblad said. “We started taking care of the ball a little bit better, not forcing shots, and our defense did a really good job of creating some turnovers for some easy buckets the other way.”

Randolph’s lead grew to 38-16 early in the fourth quarter before Cassadaga Valley put together a 12-1 run that included 3-pointers from Hopkins, Maddie Debo and Marsal Fenton.

“We are playing a different style. Our defense has been really good for us to create some easier buckets. We have some eighth- and ninth-graders out there going against seniors. In certain situations, it’s tough for us in the half-court,” Pihlblad said. “Pressuring for 32 minutes isn’t something we’ve always done, but these girls are hungry. We have 10 girls who can play out there.”

After a Randolph timeout with 2:17 left in the game, Sears scored for the Cardinals and Hopkins answered with another 3-pointer for the Cougars, but they would get no closer than 12.

“We have a lot of young, inexperienced girls at the varsity level. It’s a big learning curve this year. Getting into those situations is actually really good for us to grow and get better,” Pihlblad said. “We constantly are teaching these girls to understand the game more, and what we have to do in certain situations. I liked the last couple of possessions to put the game away.”

Randolph will return to league play Tuesday at Frewsburg while the Cougars are off until next Friday when they travel to Gowanda.

NOTES: Ryanne Bushey had 7 points, 10 rebounds and two steals while Tessa Brown had five assists and three steals for Randolph, which shot 18 of 63 from the field, including 4 of 20 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 14 times. … Hopkins had 12 points, nine rebounds and two steals; Meder had 10 rebounds and two assists; and Alexis Pattyson had four rebounds, three assists and two steals for Cassadaga Valley, which shot 11 of 48 from the field, including 4 of 22 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 25 times.

CASSADAGA VALLEY (30)

Fenton 1 0 3, KMcVey 0 0 0, FMcVey 1 1 3, MHopkins 1 0 2, Meder 0 1 1, Debo 3 0 7, BHopkins 4 2 12, Pattyson 1 0 2. Totals 11 4 30.

RANDOLPH (44)

Bowles 2 4 9, Stone 0 0 0, Sears 8 0 17, Brown 2 0 5, Nelson 0 0 0, Beaver 0 0 0, Conley 0 0 0, Bushey 3 0 7, Hill 2 0 4, Smallback 1 0 2. Totals 18 4 44.

3-point goals–Fenton, Debo, BHopkins 2, Bowles, Sears, Brown, Bushey.

Cassadaga Valley 6 6 3 15 — 30

Randolph 3 22 8 11 — 44

Jayvees: Randolph won.