Buena Vista, VA - The Southern Virginia University women's basketball team continued the non-conference portion of their schedule by hosting Randolph College for their home opener at Knight Arena. Ultimately, a tight and physical matchup would fall the Knights way as they finished on top, 55-47, to improve to 2-1 in the young season.

Coming off a superb effort against one of the best teams in the country, Southern Virginia was hungry for better results. Led by the dynamic backcourt of Aysia Foster and Ruth Kempler, the Knights overwhelmed Randolph in the paint and jumped out to an early lead. They also had some early success from beyond the arc when Alyssa Weiland and Maria Savvun hit a pair of three-pointers.

Despite the early offensive success, the contest quickly became a defensive slugfest. Abigail Snyder recorded four steals for the second consecutive game to lead the team in that department, along with 15 points. Randolph rode a wave of momentum towards the end of the second quarter to close the deficit and even grab the lead at one point, but the Knights entered halftime with a 29-27 lead.

Out of the locker room, Southern Virginia scored seven of the first ten points to lead by as much as six. However, Randolph shut the door on defense and outscored the Knights 12-2 the rest of the third. With the team struggling to find its groove offensively, Ruth Kempler stabilized the team with several important buckets.

With Kempler's efficiency from the field and the playmaking ability of Addison Newman, the Knights dominated the fourth quarter, only allowing their opponent six points to come out on top for the first time this season in front of their home crowd.

Ruth Kempler finished with 18 points on nine of twelve shooting from the field to lead the team and continue her strong start to the season. Hailey Paige was dominant on the boards again, leading the team in rebounds with eight and three of those on the offensive end.

Next on the calendar, the Knights will travel south to face Guilford College on Tuesday, November 19th, at 6:00 PM. For the most up-to-date information on the team, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_wbb on Instagram.