Skylar Herington had 28 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Payton Morrison added 16 points and 10 rebounds as Randolph beat Frewsburg 59-50 in a Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 3 contest that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.

“She struggled against Frewsburg last year at JCC. She just wasn’t where she wanted to be. She’s put in more work in the offseason than I’ve ever seen from a girls basketball player,” Randolph head coach David Pihlblad said of Herington. ” … She was hitting those shots today that she wouldn’t have hit the last couple of years because she’s just put in the work to get herself to that next level.”

Randolph, the New York State Sportswriters Association’s fifth-ranked Class C team entering the week, led 17-12 after the first quarter and took control with a 16-4 second quarter.

“We’ve pushed our girls really hard to get in shape. It seems like it paid off. We played really, really good half-court defense,” Pihlblad said. ” … They score a lot of points in transition and we made it a half-court game.”

The Bears Jadyn Trocki attempts to get by the Cardinals’ Skylar Herington. Photo courtesy of Mike Frame

Herington had 9 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Morrison added 7 points, including a 3-pointer, during the decisive eight minutes. Entering halftime, the duo had 30 of the Cardinals’ 33 points.

“She played awesome. I think that we did a good job initially on her, but then when they got a couple of offensive rebounds, we lost her in secondary options,” Frewsburg head coach Sierra Beaver said of Herington. “Overall, we can’t lose her. We lost her a few too many times. She had a bunch of good drives to the basket and we didn’t quite step over enough with our help defense.”

The Bears (8-2, 4-1), on the other hand, put together their worst quarter of the season at the other end of the floor. Frewsburg missed its first 12 shots of the period and only avoided being shutout with a pair of free throws coupled with an Abery Harvey bucket with 49 seconds remaining before halftime.

“We weren’t getting into our sets on offense. They played good defense and they have ball pressure. Defensively, they match up really well with us, speed-wise and size-wise,” Beaver said. ” … We’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and find ways to get open.”

Morrison drilled a 3-pointer to open the second half and midway through the third quarter, Quinn Pence hit her only 3-pointer of the game to give Randolph (6-4, 3-0) its biggest lead at 41-18.

Randolph’s Payton Morrison puts up a shot between Frewsburg’s Kaylee Cappa (13) and Teghan Trocki during Tuesday’s CCAA Division 3 girls basketball game in Randolph. Photo courtesy of Mike Frame

“She’s a game changer. She’s getting better every day. We’re just hoping by the end of the season she’s 100%,” Pihlblad said of Morrison. “Whatever she’s at right now is good enough for now. She changes the game defensively for us and she hit a bunch of big shots.”

The Pence bucket was the Cardinals’ last of the third quarter and the Bears ended the period on a 10-0 run, but Herington hit another 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter to stop the burst.

Jadyn Trocki’s 3-pointer with 4:17 remaining made it an 18-point game and was Frewsburg’s only make from beyond the arc all night long compared to 12 for Randolph.

“When you can help off whoever is in the corner and it’s not Payton, that changes the way that you play defense,” Beaver said of Morrison, who hit four 3-pointers. “Having her on the floor gives them another option, another threat, that you have to respect and be ready to play defense on. Doubling the ball isn’t quite as easy.”

All told, the Cardinals shot 22 of 53 from the field, including 12 of 27 from 3-point range, while the Bears were just 20 of 57 and 1 of 10. At the free-throw line, Frewsburg was just 9 of 19.

“Playing games like this is important because down the road we’re going to hopefully play in more of these games,” Beaver said. “Getting the experience is what’s most important, whether we win or we lose.”

Randolph now has a leg up in the league standings as the Bears begin their second run through the schedule. A regular-season rematch will take place Feb. 3 in Frewsburg with a third meeting likely to come in the Section VI postseason.

“I think everybody knows the importance of this game, we’re two of the best teams around. It was good to show where we’re at,” Pihlblad said. “This was a good test for us. … but the most important game is going to be that third one.”

NOTES: Sadie Steward had seven rebounds and four assists; Gianna Bowles had six rebounds; and Pence had four assists for the Cardinals, who turned the ball over 22 times. … Jadyn Trocki had eight rebounds, five steals and four assists; Harvey had seven rebounds; Taytum Jimerson had four rebounds and four steals; Teghan Trocki had three assists; and Ava Jimerson had three steals for the Bears, who turned the ball over 12 times.

FREWSBURG (50)

JTrocki 6 2 15, TTrocki 0 0 0, JJimerson 0 0 0, TJimerson 3 0 6, Cappa 2 0 4, Harvey 5 4 14, AJimerson 4 3 11. Totals 20 9 50.

RANDOLPH (59)

Hind 0 0 0, AMorrison 0 0 0, Bowles 1 0 3, Pence 2 0 5, Herington 10 3 28, Shawley 0 0 0, Bushey 0 0 0, Steward 3 0 7, Morrison 6 0 16, Smallback 0 0 0. Totals 22 3 59.

3-point goals–JTrocki, Bowles, Pence, Herington 5, Steward, Morrison 4.

Frewsburg 12 4 12 22 — 50

Randolph 17 16 8 18 — 59