Undefeated Randolph Girls Basketball beat River Dell in a nailbiter played at home on Thursday, Dec. 22. The two teams were well matched, creating a struggle for offensive dominance, but the Rams were able to overcome the Golden Hawks with a final score of 39-37.

“In our other games this season, we have not been as tested as we were tonight,” senior co-captain Allyson Kuridza said. “This was a really good team that we played where we really had to fight every single minute of the game.”

In the first quarter, River Dell was defensively aggressive, but Randolph was able to outrun the Golden Hawks and gain possession for most of the quarter. Despite Kuridza’s strong defensive play and senior co-captain Madison Jenisch’s equally strong defensive play, the final minutes of the first quarter left River Dell in the lead, 14-8.

As the second quarter began, River Dell continued to be aggressive with ball handling, but the Rams continued to block shots and passes and force turnovers. A 2-pointer from sophomore Kayla Brand allowed Randolph to come back in the second quarter with a score of 17-17. With successful foul shots from co-captains Madison Jenisch and Sydney Jenisch, the Rams made a comeback, ending the half in the lead with a score of 19-17.

“We competed well and never gave up,” head coach Peter Torres said. “We changed offense in the second half, and I think our girls adapted well to the change. It increased our lead from 1 to up to 8 points at one time.”

The third quarter was offensively led by sophomore Aliyah Lambo, Katie Tighe and Sydney Jenisch, through impressive ball handling and positioning to maximize shooting opportunities. After a 3-pointer by Tighe, the final score of the third quarter was 32-31.

With the Rams up by only 1 point at the start of the fourth quarter, they needed to work to maintain possession of the ball. Brand and Kuridza skillfully forced possession and executed blocks. The Rams were able to recognize the other team’s patterns and had to play aggressively to ensure a win. With 29 seconds left, Madison Jenisch clinched the win on the foul line, 39-37.

“I think everyone really worked their hardest tonight,” Kuridza said. “We were running, rebounding and getting every loose ball, but more importantly, we were playing for each other. This was a tough game, but we really battled.”

The Rams face West Morris Central next, on Wednesday, Jan. 4, at home.