FAYETTEVILLE — A 10-point halftime lead didn’t hold up for the Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball team on Monday.
Playing a non-conference game at Pine Forest High School, the Lady Raiders let a scoring drought in the third quarter lead to a one-possession loss, 29-27.
Head coach Teddy Moseley said he was pleased with the team’s effort and was glad to see Richmond have a chance to potentially win in the closing seconds.
“The effort was there and we had a great first half,” Moseley said. “But we had a disappointing third quarter and were outscored 14-3.
“We took that hard hit and were able to come back and be in a position to win it. We just didn’t close it out.”
In her second game back from an ACL injury, and still playing limited minutes, sophomore point guard Jamyia Lindsey scored a team-high 11 points. Her final points of the night came on a three-pointer to make it a two-point game with 13.6 seconds left.
Fouled with 3.5 seconds to go, and the team down 29-27, Lindsey was awarded three foul shots. She missed the first two and the third one was missed intentionally, but Richmond couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer.
“Without (Lindsey), we wouldn’t have been in the position we were in,” Moseley said. “I know she’s not afraid of the moment, no question about that. But there’s a little rust and a little uncertainty.”
A low-scoring first quarter ended with Richmond up 4-2. Scoring the first points of the game was freshman J’Nasia Neal on a drive, the first of her four points. Lindsey added a mid-range jumper to give Richmond the lead.
The Lady Raiders used four players to roll on a 13-5 run in the second quarter to take a 17-7 lead into the break. Sophomore Quanna Bostic scored the first six points of the period for Richmond on a triple, a free throw and a drive.
Making it a 10-point lead was a basket from junior Jamia Crowder at the midway point. Lindsey connected on the first of her three three-pointers in the game from the top of the arc to extend it to a 12-point advantage.
In the closing 90 seconds, Pine Forest (11-10) scored four points to Richmond’s two points, which came from Neal on a drive through the paint.
Despite having several chances to score, the Lady Raiders’ only points of the third came on another Lindsey triple. Again, she pulled up from the top to keep it a 20-15 lead with 3:16 to play.
The Lady Trojans used a 6-0 stretch to take a one-point lead into the fourth. They extended that lead to 26-20 before Bostic laid in the final of her eight points on a steal and transition bucket.
Crowder and senior C’Nedra Hinson each connected on one free throw down the stretch, leading to Lindsey’s final three-ball and the chance to tie.
“Without a doubt we are trending in the right direction,” Moseley closed. “I told the girls I’m not mad about the loss, just disappointed. But we’ll rebound from it.
“Makailah Jackson not playing (due to fouls) changes our whole plan defensively and offensively because she gets a lot of rebounds and extra possessions for us. We just need to work on the little things.”
The Lady Raiders (9-13, 6-5 SAC) will close their season at conference leader Scotland High School (15-7, 10-0 SAC ) on Friday. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.
