ROCKINGHAM — At the onset of the 2019-2020 high school basketball season, second-year Lady Raider head coach Teddy Moseley wanted his team to learn how to win.
And over the course of Richmond’s 25-game season, the Lady Raiders did just that, compiling a 16-9 overall record. That mark was six wins better than Moseley’s first season on the bench.
The Lady Raiders also improved their Sandhills Athletic Conference record by one game, posting a 7-7 record and finishing fifth place in the standings.
Despite a strong finish that saw the team win its final four regular-season games, Richmond exited in the first round of the SAC tournament and failed to make the 4A state playoffs for the third-straight year.
“This being year two with this team, it was all about expectations from both players and coaches,” Moseley said. “I knew what to expect from them and they knew what to expect from me as a coach.
“Not to mention the addition of two new coaches who brought a wealth of knowledge about the game of basketball in (Taneika) Reader and (Marissa) Toney,” he added. “I think this year also helped me to develop a better sense of patience as well.”
Even though one of the team’s goals was to push past the barrier separating it from the regular and postseason, Moseley isn’t counting the campaign a total loss.
“We grew leaps and bounds this past season as a team,” he noted. “We still had some moments that weren’t quite as well as we expected, but overall it was good. We just had to learn to win.
“Unfortunately we fell short against Pinecrest in the opening game of the conference tournament,” he continued. “I still felt our body of work overall was enough to get us a spot in the dance. We were the only 4A team with a winning record to not make it in, and to allow teams with losing records to make it in I felt was not right.”
Moseley went on to add that he believes the North Carolina High School Athletic Association needs to “revamp their system” to determine playoff teams and added he was “disappointed with the results.”
“We finished the season on a four-game winning streak with a margin of victory of 29 points,” Moseley said of the stretch that saw upset wins over Seventy-First and Lumberton. “That was big for us and we looked to take that into the postseason.”
The Lady Raiders opened their season by winning eight of their first 11 games, including routs against Anson, Cheraw and Southern Lee high schools. As the competition entered SAC play, Richmond suffered tough losses to Purnell Swett and Pinecrest high schools, the first of which had a turnaround season thanks to freshman Kylie Chavis.
Leading the Lady Raiders in scoring this season were a pair of guards in senior Keionna Love and Jayla McDougald. Love scored a team-high 357 points in 24 games, averaging 14.9 points per game, which was second in the SAC, according to Maxpreps.
McDougald wasn’t far behind, netting 259 total points for an average of 10.4 points per contest. Both Lady Raiders were named to the All-SAC team. Junior forward Jakerra Covington was third on the team with 8.6 points per game.
As a team, Richmond averaged 50.5 points per game this winter, an increase of 7.9 points per game from Moseley’s first season.
Moseley also credited seniors Jasmine Ewing, Jardai Tillman and Bree Wall for their efforts on the defensive end of the floor, and said their presence will be missed next season.
“Maturation would be the word I’d use to describe this season,” Moseley explained. “I feel that we matured at the right point in the season.
“Finishing the season on a four-game winning streak was a defining moment for us, so we will look to carry that momentum over into next season,” he added.
Looking ahead, Richmond will lose Love to graduation, but the core of McDougald and Covington will return to anchor the team. Current junior Davionna Campbell will return for her senior season, and Moseley said she’ll be a big part of the team’s success in the middle of the floor.
Rising junior Jamiya Ratliff will give Richmond a “solid foundation” to start next year, and now it’s up to Moseley to find the “pieces to coincide with those ladies.”
Even though the season is now over, Moseley and his coaching staff are already looking forward to 2020 and 2021. The team will take some time off and get back on the court later this spring to prepare for a team camp and a couple of tournaments in June.
“This will give us a better look at what we will have next season,” Moseley closed.
