SOUTHERN PINES — A two-point lead at halftime for the Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball team was undone late in Tuesday’s conference game at Pinecrest High School.
Returning to the hardwood after suffering a tough Sandhills Athletic Conference loss on Friday, the Lady Raiders would drop their second straight conference game 49-35 to the Lady Patriots.
In what was a tale of two halves, according to Richmond head coach Teddy Moseley, the Lady Raiders were led on the scoreboard by senior point guard Keionna Love with 14 points. Junior forward Jakerra Covington notched six points in the loss.
Richmond didn’t have an answer to slowing down Pinecrest’s Keayna McLaughlin, as the senior Lady Patriot recorded a game-high 26 points. She was aided by 11 points from fellow senior Sha’hoda Kelley.
“We were up 23-17 in the second quarter, then it seemed like there was a lid on the basket after that,” Moseley said. “We couldn’t put the ball in the basket even though we got some good looks.
“Keionna and Jakerra kept us afloat, but we need to get help from other people,” he added. “We don’t have a player like McLaughlin who can score at any time, so it has to be a collective effort.”
The 35 total points were the second lowest amount the Lady Raiders have scored in the game this season, as six other players recorded points for Richmond. But junior guard Jayla McDougald’s four points were the highest amongst those players. Senior Jasmine Ewing scored three points.
Three lead changes in the first quarter saw the Lady Patriots jump out to an 11-9 lead at the end of the period. Love scored the game’s first two points and added a drive with 17 seconds left to pull the Lady Raiders within two.
McLaughlin recorded eight of Pinecrest’s points and helped close a 5-2 run in the final two and a half minutes.
Richmond flipped the score around by adding 14 points in the second, using four more points from Love and three apiece from Covington and Ewing. A Covington free throw tied the game at 17 points, and the Lady Raiders went on a 6-4 burst to take a 23-21 lead into the locker room.
Following that surge, the Lady Raiders struggled to put up many points. Like Moseley explained, Richmond had several looks in the third quarter, but went nearly seven minutes to start the third without scoring.
McDougald finally snapped the drought when she hit a floater in transition and added a free throw after being fouled. Those three points would end a 14-0 rush by Pinecrest to begin the second half.
Trailing 35-26 with 1:05 left in the third, the Lady Raiders’ defense allowed four more points from McLaughlin and a bucket from Kelley. McLaughlin scored 12 points in the third stanza.
The fourth quarter resulted in nine more points for Richmond, but eight more for Pinecrest (10-8, 5-4 SAC) kept the comeback attempt from happening. Love hit a pair of triples to lead her team.
“Our defense was good in the first half, and Bree Wall did a great job (against McLaughlin), but she got tired,” Moseley explained. “We still missed a lot of assignments. The girls are lacking some basketball I.Q.
“Their effort is there, and the athleticism is there, but that’s only going to get us so far,” he closed. “That’s our biggest issue right now. Our offseason needs to, and will, get better.”
Richmond (12-7, 3-6 SAC) will try to turn things around on Friday when the Lady Raiders host Jack Britt High School (14-3, 7-0 SAC). The Lady Buccaneers are currently in first place in the standings, while the Lady Raiders are fifth.
The game will get underway at 6 p.m. from Raider Gymnasium.
