GREENSBORO — The Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball team opened its new season with a road loss at Northern Guilford on Tuesday.
Despite a game-high 19 points by freshman point guard Jamyia Lindsey in her high school debut, the Lady Raiders fell 59-31.
Fourth-year head coach Teddy Moseley said the game’s outcome came down to Richmond not being able to execute plays, while the Lady Nighthawks did.
“The first possession we came out with a basket and we played pretty decent on offense and defense early,” Moseley said. “But then they started to press us a little bit and we lost our composure.
“We didn’t run our plays and we turned the ball over too many times,” he added. “There were a lot of unforced turnovers and they beat us on offensive rebounds. Now we have to go back to doing the small things.”
Senior center Jamiya Ratliff opened the game with a three-pointer from the right wing, but a 10-0 run by Northern Guilford put the home team ahead.
Lindsey hit two free throws and a floater in the paint to cut the deficit to three points, but another 10-0 run by the Lady Nighthawks made it a 13-point hole.
A bucket from Ratliff and a shot from junior forward Nyla Stroman at the buzzer made it a 22-11 game at the end of the first.
Richmond scored 13 points in the second frame, the most of any quarter, and traded baskets early on. Lindsey scored 8 points in the quarter, two field goals and four free throws.
Trailing 37-20 with 1:25 left in the half, a putback by freshman forward Rena Drake and a drive from Lindsey got Richmond’s final points of the half.
At the intermission, the Lady Raiders were down 39-24. Ratliff scored all 8 of her points in the first two quarters.
Senior center Jamiya Ratliff (24) finished with 8 points in Tuesday’s opener. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Richmond tallied just 7 points in the second half, all scored by Lindsey. She had a field goal and a triple in the third quarter, and added another shot in the paint with 1:50 left in regulation.
“It was good to get out and play and see what we have,” Moseley explained. “The biggest thing we need to work on is being able to focus under pressure. We’ve got to give Jamyia (Lindsey) more help.
““It was a big debut for Jamyia. Teams are going to realize that she’s our go-to player, and we need others to step up and contribute. Tonight was filled with a lot of people standing around and watching her, there wasn’t a lot of movement on offense.”
Leading Northern Guilford (1-0) with 14 points was Lizzie Gram, followed by 11 points from Laurel Grace Zlotkowski.
Richmond (0-1) will look to enter the win column for the first time this season when the Lady Raiders travel to non-conference Uwharrie Charter Academy (4-0) next Tuesday. The game will begin at 6 p.m.
