FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Senior Shelby Mueller (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford) scored 15 second-half points, hitting all seven of her shots for the Lycoming College women's basketball team, but perennial ODAC power Randolph-Macon used a 7-2 run in the final 3:34 to take the opening game of the Cruzin' Classic, 70-63, on Monday afternoon, Dec. 18, at the Broward County Convention Center.
 
Mueller finished with 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting with three rebounds and three steals to lead the Warriors (7-3 overall). Senior Haley Sipple (Boothwyn, Pa./Chichester) added 10 points with three rebounds and two blocks.
 
After Randolph-Macon (7-1 overall), which is receiving votes in the D3hoops.com national poll, took an eight-point lead early in the third quarter, Lycoming went on a 15-4 run capped by a jumper from Mueller with 5:27 remaining in the quarter to give the Warriors the 33-30 advantage. In that run, Mueller had eight of the 15 points. Lycoming continued to hold a small lead the rest of the quarter and led by two heading into the final quarter.
 
The two teams traded buckets early in the fourth and the last lead Lycoming held was with 8:10 remaining when sophomore Akilah McFadden (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) hit a 3-pointer to make it 54-53, but the Yellow Jackets closed the game on a 17-9 run.
 
The Warriors jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter and the team's biggest lead in the second quarter was one when sophomore Morgan Mader (Cresco, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) hit two free throws 90 seconds into the quarter to make it 12-11. Randolph-Macon followed that with a 13-3 run to put it up 24-15 for the biggest lead of the first half. The Warriors were able to go into halftime down six when freshman Tori Talanca (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area) hit a short jumper to make it, 29-23, right before the half.
 
Mader and Talanca each scored eight points off the bench and McFadden added five points, five assists, eight rebounds and four steals.
 
Kelly Williams, the Division III leader in rebounds and third in points, led Randolph-Macon with 21 points, 17 rebounds, five blocks and four assists. Becca Arrington added 14 points and four rebounds off the bench.
 
The Warriors return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 2 p.m. in their second game of the Cruzin' Classic against Mary Washington at the Broward County Convention Center.