ROCKINGHAM — Teddy Moseley said the recipe for success Saturday was the Lady Raider basketball team continuing to turn defense into offense.
Playing a matinee game against visiting South Mecklenburg High School, the Lady Raiders picked up a 49-26 non-conference victory.
Transition defense played a big role in the win, as the Lady Raiders forced 10 steals and made the Lady Sabres pay by turning many of them into points.
Thanks to a suffocating defensive presence that held South Mecklenburg to single digits in the first half, Richmond allowed just four points to the Lady Sabres in three of the four quarters.
Sticking with her usual script, junior point guard Jamyia Lindsey led all scorers with 25 points. She secured nine rebounds with two steals and an assist.
Freshman Madisen Jackson was the second-highest scorer for Richmond, as she netted eight points to go along with nine rebounds. Senior MaKailah Jackson led the Lady Raiders with 11 boards and scored two points.
Senior Ryelan Lyerly and sophomore Jasiah Gilchrist each scored six points. Lyerly hit two triples and all of Gilchrist’s points came from the free throw line.
Gilchrist also pulled in six rebounds and led the team with three steals. Lyerly had three rebounds. Richmond’s other two points came courtesy of junior Rena Drake, who also had four boards.
Lindsey accounted for all but two of Richmond’s points in the opening stanza, which ended in a 13-4 lead for the Lady Raiders.
She scored the game’s first seven points on four free throws and a three-pointer from the top of the arc. That led to a South Mecklenburg timeout.
Madisen Jackson netted her first two points out of the break to complete a 9-0 run. A free throw by Makailah Davis got the Lady Sabres on the board at the 3:28 mark.
In the closing three minutes, Lindsey drained another triple and a free throw to give her 11 points.
A low-scoring second period yielded an 8-4 stretch by the Lady Raiders. Lyerly added all of her scoring with a pair of three-pointers from opposite corners to give her six points.
During two trips to the line, Gilchrist added two free throws to help make it a 21-8 lead at the break.
To begin the third quarter, Richmond opened its lead to 19 points, 28-9. MaKailah Jackson netted her two points and that was followed by three free throws from Gilchrist and a putback by Madisen Jackson.
South Mecklenburg (8-6) made a run and cut its deficit to 32-19. The Lady Sabres outscored Richmond 10-4 over a two-minute span, resulting in a timeout called by the Lady Raiders.
Responding out of the break, the Lady Raiders tacked on 11 more points before the end of the third. A baseline jumper and a put back by Madisen Jackson sandwiched a pair of Lindsey free throws and one from Gilchrist.
Adding the final four points of the third to take a 43-22 lead, Lindsey connected on a foul shot and completed an old-fashioned three-point play.
Playing keep-away for much of the final eight minutes, Richmond added its final six points on a trio of Lindsey field goals. She scored on a drive through the paint and had two jumpers.
Davis was South Mecklenburg’s leading scorer with 14 points, followed by three points each from KB Brown and Kathleen Miller.
The Lady Raiders (9-4, 3-0) will travel to Union Pines High School (7-6, 1-1) to resume Sandhills Athletic Conference play Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Saturday’s win soon.
Sports editor’s note: Statistics provided by Richmond assistant coach Taneika Reader.
