Randolph Gal Ghosts Busy
By Jill D. Montgomery

The Randolph girls basketball team had a busy time last week with two home games and an away game on Saturday. The Gal Ghosts lost to Montpelier at home last Thursday, 52-39, dropped a game to Lyndon away Saturday, 55-49 but came back and defeated Harwood at home Tuesday in a close contest, 31-29.

Win Over Harwood

The Randolph and Harwood contest resembled the first meeting between these two teams, but the Gal Ghosts liked the outcome much better as they pulled off the two point victory. Randolph took a 10-4 lead after the first quarter and a 16-11 edge at the half.

The third quarter saw Randolph add a mere five points and the Highlanders fared no better as they could only muster three. The score at the end of the third was 21-14, Randolph.

Brynn Fabian led off the final stanza with a trey for the 10-point lead, but Harwood started making their comeback. Two foul shots and a three-pointer from the Highlanders gave the visitors momentum. Harwood added two more freebies and a hoop and then scored on a Randolph turnover to take a brief 27-26 lead.

Emily Howe added a point from the charity stripe to knot the game but Harwood scored the next time down court. Randolph worked hard to get two steals but couldn’t get the a ball to fall in the basket.

Fabian came through with a shot from downtown with 36 seconds left on the clock for a 30-29 lead. Fabian added the final point of the game from the foul line, but both teams battled through the final 23 seconds to give the fans their money’s worth!

Randolph’s scorers were Fabian with 9 points, Howe with 5, Gwen Reis and Shelby Peltier each with 4, Arielle Connolly 3, and Sharayah Nonemacher, Andrea Chase and Lyndsey Smith with 2 each. Nonemacher also had 10 rebounds and the team as a whole had 20 steals.

Loss to Lyndon

The Randolph girls stayed with the Lyndon Vikings through three quarters last Saturday but weren’t able to hang on for the win, losing, 55-49.

Lyndon took a slim 14-12 lead after the first quarter Saturday after Randolph fought back from a 7-2 deficit.

Reis fired up in the second period leading off with a basket inside, a foul shot and a rebound down at the other end of the court. Lyndon retied the game, 17-17 with a trey, but Reis scored again. The game was tied again at 19 and 21 after a hoop from Howe. The score at halftime was yet another tie, 23-23.

The third period continued with more of the same with ties at 26-26 and 33-33 before Lyndon beat the buzzer with a bucket and the 35-33 third quarter edge.

In the fourth, Lyndon made their baskets and Randolph made their foul shots but the Vikings pulled steadily away. Fabian hit two trey in the fourth and Howe nailed one as well, but the Vikings ended the game with a six-point victory. Two players from Lyndon scored in double figures, #12 Margaret Hilton with 17 and #14 Courtney Simpson with 11 points.

Howe led Randolph’s scoring with 19 points, Fabian added 11, Reis 10, Connolly 4, Andrea Chase 3 and Peltier 2.

After the game Coach Alan Stewart said "We’ve got to tighten up on defense. I’m happy with fewer turnovers and our scoring, but we need to improve on rebounding and our defense."

Loss to Solons

The Randolph Gal Ghosts faced the Montpelier Solons at home last Thursday and lost 52-39. After being close for most of the game, a big push by the Solons in the fourth spelled doom for the Ghosts.

The two teams went neck and neck in the first period with Montpelier scoring 11 and Randolph 10. At the half, the Gal Ghosts led 19-17 and 31-30 after three periods.

Montpelier had their big quarter in the fourth, scoring 22 to Ran-dolph’s 8, to take the win.

Randolph’s high scorer was Peltier with 13 points, Fabian added 7, Reis 6, Howe 4, Higgins and Andrea Chase 3 each, Nonemacher 2 and Connolly 1.

J.V.Games

The J.V. girls game versus Montpelier went right down to the wire but Montpelier won, 27-24. The high scorers were Amanda Gerstenmaier with 6 and Javon Miller with 5.

The junior varsity squad played well and defeated Lyndon Saturday, 37-34. The high scorers were Lyndsey Smith with 11 and Heather Surprenant with 6.

The J.V. girls had a close game against Harwood at home Tuesday but lost 28-24. The top scorers were Emily Beaudin with 9 and Amanda Gerstenmaier with 6. Their record is now 7-7.

Upcoming Games

The Randolph girls play Mt. Abe at home Thursday, play Lamoille away Tuesday, Feb. 6, have their final home game Thursday, Feb. 8 and travel to U-32’s gym on Tuesday, Feb. 13. The Gal Ghosts record is 6-10.

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