ROCKINGHAM — Officially starting off the high school basketball season on Friday, the Richmond junior varsity girls’ basketball dominated its competition.
Despite the visiting team arriving late, the JV Lady Raiders kept their composure en route to a 55-5 victory over Red Springs High School.
Returning its JV program for the first time in two years, Richmond initiated a running clock near the end of the third quarter.
Outscoring the JV Lady Red Devils 26-3 in the opening half, Richmond used transition defense to create scoring opportunities.
Leading the team in scoring was sophomore point guard Olivia Brown, who netted 26 points.
“I’m very proud of the team,” head coach Tonia Breeden said. “We only have seven girls and that can be a struggle to begin with. They fought through all the nerves and got it together. They got to where they needed to be to get the win.
“Olivia is our captain, the leader of our team and she caused a lot of turnovers,” she added. “She’s so quick in being able to get to the basket and score.”
The JV Lady Raiders opened the game with a pair of close-range buckets from Brown and freshman Kaniah Little, who had 12 points in the win.
Red Springs scored on a free throw at the 5:10 mark and wouldn’t score again until the clock read 1:49 in the second quarter.
Richmond used that drought to break the game open, going on an 18-0 run during that stretch.
Brown, who had 10 points in the first quarter, drained a three-pointer and added three free throws and a field goal before the end of the first.
Taking a 12-1 advantage into the second stanza, the JV Lady Raiders used points from four players to keep their lead large.
Little started the scoring with a bucket underneath the basket. Freshman Iyana Little made a transition bucket and Brown hit a putback on the next possession.
Rush drained a deep two that forced a timeout with the score 20-1. Another bucket from Rush capped the long scoring run.
A layup by the JV Lady Red Devils with under two minutes to go in the half would be their last set of points until the fourth quarter.
Brown added her 13th point of the half on a free throw and Rush drained a three-ball from the top of the arc for three more of her nine total points.
Starting the second half with a 23-point lead, Richmond kept the offensive and defensive pressure on, outscoring Red Springs 20-0.
Brown had 11 points in the third quarter on five field goals and a free throw. Her final bucket of the frame started the running clock with 1:20 to play.
Kaniah Little added five points in the third and freshmen Kenya Bailey and Ny’Aziah Wilson each recorded a field goal.
Up 46-3 to start the final quarter, Rush and Little opened the eight-minute period with a basket apiece. Wilson also hit a mid-range jumper.
Richmond’s final points came on a Kaniah Little free throw and a jump shot from Brown near the three-minute mark. From then on, the JV Lady Raiders ran out the clock.
The JV Lady Raiders (1-0) will host Fairmont High School on Nov. 28 at 4:30 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of the JV Lady Raiders’ win soon.
