SANFORD — Going into Monday’s non-conference game, the Richmond girls’ basketball team knew it was facing a formidable opponent.
Making their first road trip of the season, the Lady Raiders couldn’t match up in size to Grace Christian School, suffering an 82-37 loss.
In their second game of the season, the Lady Raiders had trouble getting to the basket and struggled to get open looks against a suffocating defense.
Head coach Teddy Moseley said scheduling the two-time defending NCISAA 2A state champion was done to help Richmond learn and get better.
“They’re the No. 1 team in the state for a reason,” Moseley shared. “We had a problem with their length out front and that gave us a lot of problems. They’re long and athletic.
“We came in and said we didn’t want No. 21 (Sarah Strong) to beat us and we wanted to make everyone else beat us. And unfortunately that happened tonight. But one thing that I saw, and that I liked, is that we fought and competed very hard.”
Strong, the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the class of 2024, scored 11 points. But most of her damage done against Richmond was in the paint rebounding and blocking shots.
Leading all scorers was Icyss Storm with 23 points. Isabella Roman added 15 points for Grace Christian (3-0).
The Lady Crusaders opened the game on an 8-0 run before sophomore guard Jasiah Gilchrist made a transition layup for the Lady Raiders at the 5:42 mark of the first quarter.
Grace Christian, which dropped five three-pointers in the opening frame and 12 in the win, continued to roll to a 21-2 advantage.
Richmond scored the next six points thanks to a putback by senior forward C’Niya Hinson and two free throws and a baseline drive by junior point guard Jamyia Lindsey.
At the end of the first, Grace Christian led 25-8.
The Lady Raiders were outscored 22-13 in the second stanza. Senior forward Ryelan Lyerly drained a three-pointer from the right corner in the opening seconds.
Gilchrist, who finished with 10 points and three rebounds, had two free throws. Senior center MaKailah Jackson muscled her way through the paint for the first two of her four total points.
After a transition basket by Jackson, and Richmond trailing 31-17, the Lady Crusaders went on an 8-0 scoring stretch. Stopping the run was a three-pointer from Gilchrist at the top of the arc.
A free throw by Lindsey, who led the Lady Raiders with 11 points, with 2:08 to play was the last point scored by Richmond in the half. At the intermission, the visitors trailed 47-21.
Using a 14-0 run to begin the third stanza, the Lady Crusaders took a 61-21 lead and started the running clock with 2:51 to go.
Richmond’s four total points in the third came courtesy of two Lindsey free throws and transition layup by junior forward Rena Drake.
A quick-moving fourth quarter saw the Lady Raiders trail by as many as 47 points three different times.
Freshman forward Madisen Jackson got on the board with five points in the closing minutes thanks to a free throw and two buckets.
Gilchrist capped her scoring with another three-ball, and Lindsey made four baskets from the charity stripe. The final three free throws came as the clock expired.
MaKailah Jackson led Richmond with four rebounds, as Madisen Jackson, Hinson and Lyerly each had three boards. Lindsey and Drake each pulled down two rebounds.
Another big road test awaits Richmond (1-1) on Tuesday at non-conference Myers Park (1-0). Action is set to begin at 6 p.m.
“We just need to get plenty of rest tonight and have a short memory,” Moseley closed. “These games are only going to help us. They’re going to show that we’re battle tested.
“I’m proud of the way we fought and we’ll make some changes to some back cuts. Overall it was a good effort tonight.”
