RAEFORD — Friday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference win was never much of a doubt for the Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball team.
Extending their winning streak to four games, the Lady Raiders capped a three-win week with a 56-33 victory on the road at Hoke County High School.
The old adage of “a good offense starts with a good defense” proved true for Richmond and head coach Taneika Reader, as the team’s press defense limited Hoke County’s scoring and led to easy transition points.
Five players scored in the win, led by senior point guard Jamyia Lindsey and her 26 points. Reaching double-figures was junior guard Jasiah Gilchrist (16 points).
Sophomore Madisen Jackson did her usual numbers on defense and added seven points. Juniors J’Nasia Neal and Olivia Brown had four and three points, respectively.
Taking the first half of the first quarter to adjust to Hoke County’s size down low, the Lady Raiders traded buckets out to an 8-8 tie.
Jackson scored the first two points, followed by a close range shot and a jumper from Lindsey. On Hoke County’s next trip down the floor, Gilchrist scored her first two points in transition.
The final two baskets started an 11-3 run for Richmond to close the final 4:15 of the quarter. Brown scored her three points thanks to a triple from the right wing.
A pair of free throws from Gilchrist and a Lindsey pull-up from the left elbow put Richmond ahead 17-11.
The second quarter was a low-scoring affair for both teams. Richmond went on a 9-7 stretch to take a 26-18 lead into the break.
Thanks to another steal by Gilchrist, one of several in the game by her, she was able to score two easy transition points. Jackson netted a pair of free throws to make it 20-11.
Near the midway point of the quarter, another Gilchrist steal and a Jackson jumper gave Richmond its largest lead of the first half, 24-13.
Lindsey brought her first-half total to 10 points with 48.2 seconds to go for the Lady Raiders’ final two points.
A13-2 start to the third quarter helped put the game away for Richmond, which applied its press defense early on to keep the Lady Bucks (3-17, 0-9 SAC) off balance.
Lindsey had the team’s first four points, all at the charity stripe. Jackson finessed her way through the lane for two points and Neal netted all four of her points on consecutive possessions. She scored a transition bucket before making a shot on an inbound pass.
Richmond’s last seven points of the frame all came from the shooting hand of Lindsey. She splashed down a three-ball from the left corner before scoring two field goals in the last 58 seconds.
Entering the fourth quarter up 43-25, Gilchrist and Lindsey combined for all of Richmond’s 13 points.
A Lindsey jumper and two swipes and buckets from Gilchrist made it 49-25. Lindsey capped her scoring with a three-pointer along the left wing with 5:02 remaining.
Gilchrist made two trips to the line and netted a layup as a result of another takeaway for the team’s final four points.
Hoke County scored eight points in the fourth, which matched Gilchrist’s total in the
The Lady Bucks were led in scoring by Karmen Campbell (15 points) and Lailah Crowder (11 points).
Improving to 13-5 overall, and 7-1 in the SAC, the Lady Raiders will return to play Tuesday at Union Pines High School (18-0, 7-0 SAC).
Richmond lost the first meeting of the season with the Lady Vikings by one point at the buzzer. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Friday’s win over the weekend.
