RAEFORD — The Lady Raider varsity basketball team controlled Tuesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference game against Hoke County High School from the opening whistle.
What head coach Teddy Moseley called a big confidence booster for his team, Richmond ended a two-game skid with a 55-11 victory. The win completed the regular-season sweep of the Lady Bucks.
Freshman forward Ryelan Lyerly netted a career-high 15 points in the win, knocking down a game-high five three-pointers. She scored 12 points in the first half, and accounted for over half of Richmond’s nine shots from downtown.
“I started off with a lot of confidence in my body and my spirit,” Lyerly said. “I felt like myself tonight, and I think I played a better game tonight offensively and defensively.
“I was thinking about my family back home watching the game and not being here,” she added. “I kept pushing for them and God, that’s what motivated me tonight.”
Sophomore shooting guard Kyla Sampson also netted a season-high 12 points for the Lady Raiders, scoring seven points before the halftime break. She hit two three-pointers in the game, and teammates Jayla McDougald and Jamiya Ratliff knocked in the other two triples.
Ratliff posted up eight points in the win, and senior Jakerra Covington and junior Allyiah Swiney both added six points for Richmond. Moseley said the win was much needed after dropping consecutive games to Pinecrest and Jack Britt high schools.
“It was a good win, but we still have a ways to go,” Moseley said. “Tonight was a game that allowed us to work on things we needed to. We were able to run through progressions on offense and defense, and we haven’t done that well the last couple games.
“We also got some other players some valuable game experience,” he added. “We’ll need players like Ryelan and Kyla down the stretch. It was a good confidence booster, regardless of the competition. Any time we can get a good win, that helps the team.”
Richmond outscored Hoke County 20-2 in the first quarter, using buckets from five different players to set the tone. Four points from Covington and triples from McDougald and Ratliff from the right side put the visitors up 10-0.
Faith Mason scored Hoke County’s lone first-half points on a jumper with 3:45 to play in the first. Sampson got on the board with back-to-back drives and Lyerly notched her first two three-balls from the right corner and left wing in the final two minutes.
A 21-0 run during the second quarter broke the game open for the Lady Raiders. Swiney started the frame with a pair of drives and sophomore C’Nedra Hinson completed an old-fashioned three-point play to put Richmond up 27-2.
In the closing five minutes of the half, Lyerly rattled home two more three-pointers, Ratliff netted her final five points and Sampson rang home from downtown with 38 seconds left.
“It was very important to win tonight and it definitely got our confidence up,” Sampson said. “This win picked us back up after playing flat against Pinecrest and Jack Britt. We had to put our best effort out there tonight and I think we did that.
“I think we did better overall with our effort and playing together as a team,” she added. “We had a better attitude and didn’t give up so quickly when things didn’t go our way.”
A pair of Covington free throws at the 6:50 mark of the third quarter put Richmond up by 41 points, which started the running clock. Swiney and Sampson combined for the rest of Richmond’s points in the third.
Whitney Thompson, who finished with a team-high five points for Hoke County, netted all of her points in the third. Layla McRae tacked on two more points for the Lady Bucks (0-6, 0-4 SAC).
In the closing eight minutes, Lyerly capped her night with another triple for Richmond, and Sampson and Hinson each added a bucket.
“I thought we did a better job of sharing the ball tonight,” Moseley noted. “Defensively, we came out with our press and played well. Allyiah was able to get some confidence tonight and I told her I wanted her to take any opportunity to score, and she did that.”
The Lady Raiders (4-3, 2-2 SAC) will return to their home floor on Friday for another SAC contest against Lumberton High School (2-3, 1-2 SAC). Tip is set for 5 p.m.
