ROCKINGHAM — For the first time in nearly five years, the Richmond girls’ basketball team defeated conference foe Pinecrest High School on Friday.
Snapping a 9-game losing streak dating back to Feb. 7, 2017, the Lady Raiders won their fourth-straight game in an overtime thriller.
Outscoring the Lady Patriots 6-0 in the extra four-minute period, Richmond erased a halftime deficit to win 52-46.
Free throws proved to be the difference maker, as freshman point guard Jamyia Lindsey went 4-for-6 at the line in overtime for the final of her game-high 28 points.
Senior center Jai’Maya Ratliff chipped in a bucket off the glass to start overtime, wrapping up her 11-point performance.
The win over Pinecrest (4-2, 0-1 Sandhills Athletic Conference) was the first one for head coach Teddy Moseley, who took over the program at the start of the 2018-19 season.
“This program has really gotten a gorilla off our back,” Moseley said. “This is the one that’s eluded us since I got here. We’ve had them on the ropes and tonight we were able to finish. I am so proud of this team.
“Our man defense was really good, and I think we wore them down in the overtime period,” he added. “They didn’t like pressure at all, and defensively we were able to shut them down.”
Junior guard C’Nedra Hinson (12) applies pressure during the first half of Friday’s win. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Pinecrest tied the game at 46 points late in the fourth, and Richmond had 12.2 seconds to work with but couldn’t score at the end of regulation.
Ratliff hit a drive high off the glass 13 seconds into overtime, followed by two free throws from Lindsey at the 2:30 and 2:07 marks.
Defensively, Ratliff made a steal with two minutes to play, and blocked shots by Jakaya Scott and Emmie Modlin in the final minute.
Lindsey added the two insurance free throws with 1:07 remaining to ice the win.
Moseley said his team’s defense was a pivotal part of the victory.
“C’Nedra Hinson was huge on the defensive end tonight, and she’s been great all year,” Moseley said. “She knows how to play defense and is a smart player who moves her feet. She buckled down on their point guard.
“Jai’Maya had some big blocks and I always tell her a lot of her blocks are going to come on help off the ball,” he continued. “That’s what she did on the blocks in overtime and that was big for us.”
Richmond led 12-9 after the first quarter, seeing Lindsey net her first 7 points on two field goals and a three-pointer.
Hinson rattled home a three-ball from the right corner for the first of her season-high 7 points, and Ratliff added a shot under the basket.
An 11-2 run by Pinecrest to open the second quarter put the Lady Raiders down by as many as five points. Hinson and Ratliff each had a free throw for Richmond’s points.
In the final 1:07 of the first half, the Lady Raiders answered with a 7-3 run of their own, which was capped by a deep three-pointer from Lindey at the buzzer. The last of her 14 first-half points cut Richmond’s deficit to 23-21.
A pair of three-pointers from Ratliff in the third, coupled with four points from Lindsey and two free throws from sophomore Keyoni Nichols kept Richmond close after three, 36-33.
Senior Jai’Maya Ratliff (24) pulls up for a three-pointer over Emmie Modlin in the third quarter. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Pinecrest extended its lead to 40-33 to start the fourth, but a 7-0 run that ended in a Lindsey drive, two of her six four-quarter points, tied the game with 4:07 left.
The two teams traded baskets to three more ties before entering overtime. Freshman Rena Drake scored her only two points of the game to knot the score at 44 points, and junior Joy Styles also scored her two points late.
“Pinecrest wanted to slow us down and we played into their hands when we were down.” Moseley explained. “And we knew we’d have to attack, and I think Jamyia realized that in the second half and overtime.
“Toward the end of the game when we got the lead, (Pinecrest) had to come out of that zone. And once they did that, I knew we’d have the upper hand.”
The leading scorers for Pinecrest were Scott (18, Modlin (9) and Brittney Sparrow (7).
Richmond (4-1, 2-0 SAC) will play Corinth Holders High School (4-0) in the first round of the Gil Bowman Holiday Classic next Thursday. The game will be played at Terry Sanford High School.
