ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior High School girls’ junior varsity team is on a little hot streak to start the new year following another conference win at home on Tuesday.
A couple of nights after rolling past Jack Britt, the Lady Raiders welcomed in Hoke County High School and knocked off the the Lady Bucks 45-22.
The win proved to be the team’s second in a row against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents, and it brought Richmond’s record to 4-4, 2-2 SAC.
“We are coming alive as a team,” first year head coach Demi Watkins said. “Everything is starting to flow together better.
“Our defense was great today,” she added. “The 50/50 balls we were all over the place, and that’s the kind of intensity we need to play every possession with.”
Freshman C’Nedra Hinson would lead the Lady Raiders in scoring with 10 points, while fellow freshman EJ Davis had her best game of the season with 9 points.
Nyla Stroman, who scored a career-high 22 points last week against Jack Britt, followed up with 8 points. Rounding out the Lady Raiders’ top scorers was Mariah Waddell, who chipped in six points off the bench.
Richmond outscored Hoke County 12-4 in the opening quarter behind four points from Stroman on a field goal and two free throws. Waddell also netted four points, while Hinson and Davis each chipped in a basket.
The second quarter was led by Davis who scored three of Richmond’s nine points. Daniah McDonald got on the board for the first time with a field goal, Stroman added two more and Hinson knocked in a pair of free throws.
At the halftime break, Richmond led 23-11.
The Lady Raiders broke the game open for good in the third quarter, as Davis and Hinson both went off for four points. Hinson’s work at guard allowed her to guide the ball through the paint, while Davis’ height and strength were no match in the post for Hoke County.
They combined for 8 of Richmond’s 14 points, while Stroman, Waddell and Daveah Robinson all chipped in two points. Ten more points in the fourth from five players, including two from sophomore Raven Robinson, helped move the Lady Raiders back to the .500 mark.
Richmond will return to road action Friday when the Lady Raiders (4-4, 2-2 SAC) travel to Lumberton High School for a 5 p.m. start.
