ASHLAND, Va. – For the sixth year in a row, Randolph-Macon women's basketball walked away from its season with a winning record and a slew of honors in the postseason. A pair of Yellow Jacket juniors were honored by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and two student-athletes received a weekly honor from the conference during the season. Head Coach Carroll LaHaye attained a major milestone for the second season in a row in 2018-2019.
"Although this season didn't go exactly as we had all expected, I am proud of what we did accomplish given all the adversity our players dealt with throughout the entire year," LaHaye said. "They need to be commended for their resiliency."
After dropping the first game of the season by one on the road against a Top 25 ranked Marymount squad, Randolph-Macon went on a nine-game win streak.
One of those wins, a 94-87 victory at Bridgewater, marked a new accomplishment for LaHaye, just a season after she attained 600 overall wins. The triumph against the Eagles marked victory number 612 for LaHaye, which surpassed Roanoke's Susan Dunagan for most overall wins by an Old Dominion Athletic Conference head basketball coach, in either the Men's or Women's programs. LaHaye finished her 37th season with the Yellow Jackets in 2018-19 and now has 628 victories.
"During every accomplishment of this program, players and coaches alike, we each have given credit to all those that have supported us and helped us reach the success and accolades we received," LaHaye said. "Without each other none of this would be possible and I am a prime example of what that means—it is not an individual sport and I thank each of the players and all the teams who helped me reach these 628 wins."
As R-MC climbed in the rankings to No. 20, the streak set-up a national Top 25 matchup in Las Vegas with 23rd-ranked Wartburg. The Knights claimed that win, but the game was also a critical point in the year as it set a different course to the rest of the season. Reigning ODAC Player of the Year Kelly Williams (Garysburg, N.C. / Halifax Academy) would not play in another game after suffering an injury. Despite the setback, and with a strong group of senior leaders in Jayla Wade (Newport News, Va. / Heritage) and Kelsey Wisner (York, Pa. / Central York), the Yellow Jackets had a plan for unity.
The developing group did run into growing pains. The Yellow Jackets went 3-5 in January, getting huge wins over Eastern Mennonite, Ferrum, and Randolph, but suffering losses to other ODAC foes.
By February, the Yellow Jackets had come together and won five straight, including an important win against Virginia Wesleyan, who had bested R-MC earlier in the season.
R-MC drew VWU in the ODAC Tournament and, for the second time in the season, the game went to overtime. But this time, R-MC came out the victors. The season ended in the semifinal round to eventual ODAC Champion and conference Cinderella, the eighth-seeded Shenandoah Hornets.
Juniors Charlotte Woods (Richmond, Va. / Trinity) and Michal Ross (Glen Allen, Va. / Glen Allen) earned All-ODAC Second Team honors this season. Williams and Wisner were also honored by the ODAC during the course of the season; Williams earned Player of the Week honors for the second and fourth weeks of 2018, while Wisner earned the same recognition in the third week of the season.
Woods was one of the best rebounders in the conference and the nation. This is the second All-ODAC honor Woods has received in her career; in 2017-18, Woods was honored as an All-ODAC Third Team member. Woods was the best offensive rebounder in the ODAC, grabbing 4.3 offensive boards per contest. That was the 29th best in NCAA Division III as well. Her total rebounds-per-game of 10.4 was second-best in the ODAC this season. Woods' 2.5 steals-per-game was good for fourth best in the ODAC.
Ross was honored with an All-ODAC selection for the first time in her career. Ross averaged 15.3 points per game this season, which was fifth-best in the ODAC. Ross was also one of the leaders on the team with 2.2 steals per game, which was sixth best in the ODAC. Ross was also in the Top 20 in the conference for rebounds-per-game, averaging 5.4 each contest.
"Randolph-Macon has always been blessed with quality players who earn All-Conference accolades and this year was no different," LaHaye said. "With what Michal and Charlotte brought to our team and to the ODAC in general, they certainly deserved All-Conference honors."
The Yellow Jackets now turn an eye to 2019-2020 as R-MC builds upon skills and fundamentals that the group learned this year as the hunt for the program's tenth ODAC Championship begins anew.
