LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Bridgewater College Eagles started fast and finished strong Saturday to defeat Randolph College, 85-69, in ODAC women's hoops action.

The Eagles raced out to a 31-14 lead after one period, but that advantage disappeared as the WildCats took a 51-50 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter. Bridgewater led by three points after three quarters and then outscored the hosts 29-16 in the final period to pull away for the victory.

Jessica Lam scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Eagles over the Widlcats. Cassidy Burkholder continued her strong play with 15 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals while point guard Sydni Carey added 11 points and six assists.

Bridgewater's fast start began with a layup by Lam and a three-point play by Oshene Kelly. Burkholder added a bucket to cap the Eagles' 7-0 start.

After Jacqueline Hockman put the Cats on the board, the Eagles added another 7-0 spurt to lead 14-2. Jessi Strom's layup and 3-pointer sparked the run.

The Eagles took their biggest lead of the quarter, 29-11, on a layup by Lam with 1:13 left and a layup by Kelly at the buzzer gave Bridgewater a 31-14 lead.

A layup to Kelly to open the second period put Bridgewater ahead 33-14, the Eagles biggest lead of the first half.

Randolph then began its long climb back and a 21-2 barrage over the next seven minutes and 24 seconds knotted the score at 35-35.

Briana Moore broke the Eagles drought with two buckets in the final minute of the half to send the Eagles to the locker room with a four-point, 39-35, advantage.

Layups by Burkholder and Strom to open the second half gave the Eagles an eight-point lead, but the WildCats hung tough and took their first lead of the game, 51-50, on a bucket by Brie Holdren with 3:01 remaining in the quarter.

The teams traded points until a layup by Kaitlyn Lehan with three seconds left sent the Eagles to the fourth quarter with a 56-53 lead.

The margin was still three when two layups by Lam pushed the cushion to seven, 66-59, with 6:51 left. Four more points from Lam sent the margin back to double digits, 73-63, with five minutes remaining.

Two free throws by Hockman and a bucket by Rebecca Harvey sliced the margin to six, but the WidlCats would get no closer as the Eagles pulled away for the final 85-69 margin of victory.

Bridgewater connected on 50 percent from the floor, making 30-of-60 shots. The Eagles also did a solid job taking care of the basketball, turning the ball over just 11 times.

Randolph made 23-of-58 shots for 39 percent. Hockman led the WildCats with 17 points, followed by Abigail Bullins with 15 and Harvey with 14. Randolph controlled the glass, outrebounding the Eagles, 41-30. Hockman led the Cats with nine boards while Carey pulled down six rebounds for the Eagles.

With the victory, Bridgewater evened its record at 9-9 overall and 5-5 in the ODAC. Randolph dropped to 4-15 overall and 2-8 in conference play.

The Eagles are back in action Wednesday evening when they host rival Eastern Mennonite. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.