ROCKINGHAM — Extending its winning streak to 10 games, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball team used another running clock Friday.
Registering its third consecutive victory with the sped-up timer, all against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents, the Lady Raiders routed Hoke County High School 73-12.
Remaining perfect in conference play, Richmond secured its third two-game regular-season sweep of the season (Southern Lee, Pincrest and Hoke County).
A bucket by junior point guard Jamyia Lindsey with 1:26 to go in the second quarter made it a 47-7 lead, which secured the running clock in the final two quarters.
Doing most of the damage were Lindsey and sophomore guard Jasiah Gilchrist, who combined for 64 points and 25-of-41 shooting.
Lindsey netted a season-high 37 points, including 27 points in the first half. She had five steals, two rebounds and two assists.
Gilchrist recorded a new career-high 27 points, surpassing her previous mark from earlier this season by four points. She added five steals, four assists and three boards.
Four others scored for Richmond — seniors Ryelan Lyerly (four points), MaKailah Jackson (two points, six rebounds), C’Niya Hinson (two points, four boards) and sophomore J’Nasia Neal (one point).
The Lady Raiders recorded their single highest-scoring quarter of the season with 31 points in the first eight minutes. Using three scorers, they jumped out to a 31-5 lead.
Lindsey netted 18 points in the first stanza, followed by Gilchrist with nine points and Lyerly with four points.
Hoke County held a 2-0 lead off the tip, but a jumper by Lyerly and back-to-back drives from Lindsey less than a minute later reversed course.
The Lady Bucks called a timeout down 10-3, but Richmond used it to its advantage to close the final 6:15 on a 21-2 stretch.
Giving the Lady Raiders their largest lead to that point in the game, 26 points, Lindsey made a transition bucket with two ticks left on the clock.
Pouring on the offense and using a number of turnovers, Lindsey and Gilchrist accounted for all of Richmond’s 21 points in the second.
Netting 12 points on fastbreaks and turnovers was Gilchrist, while Lindsey added four field goals and a free throw for nine points.
The Lady Raiders led 52-7 at the break with Lindsey at 27 points and Gilchrist at 21 points. Their defense held Hoke County (3-16, 1-8 SAC) to just two points in the second quarter.
Going into cruise control in the second half, Richmond outdid Hoke County 15-4 in the third quarter.
Lindsey, who finished 10-for-12 at the foul line, made three shots and added a pair of drives. Gilchrist scored her four points in the quarter in the opening minutes.
Both Hinson and Jackson got on the board with their two points in the third, posting up in the paint to make a shot under the basket.
Three free throws from Lindsey, a bucket by Gilchrist and Neal’s free throw recorded Richmond’s final six points in the fourth quarter. Hoke County had one point on a free throw.
The Lady Raiders (17-4, 9-0 SAC) start their final two-game week of the regular season at home Tuesday against Union Pines High School (10-9, 4-4 SAC).
Currently with a one-game lead over Scotland for first place in the SAC standings, Richmond and the Lady Vikings will tip-off at 6 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: Unofficial stats contributed by assistant coach Taneika Reader. The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Friday’s win soon.
