ROCKINGHAM — A week ahead of its regular-season opener, the Richmond Senior High School varsity girls’ basketball team hosted a scrimmage on Tuesday.
The Lady Raiders welcomed Marlboro County High School and played nearly three full quarters before the visiting team forfeited the remainder of the preseason contest.
Richmond was leading 30-20 with 2:44 remaining in the third stanza when the Lady Bulldogs exited the game.
Freshman point guard Jamyia Lindsey led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 8 points, including 4 points in the first quarter.
Adding 7 points was senior forward Jamiya Ratliff and sophomore guard Keyoni Nichols chipped in 6 points, all in the first half.
Richmond led by as many as 12 points three different times before the half. At the intermission, head coach Teddy Moseley’s team held a 25-15 advantage.
“Jamyia Lindsey played well tonight and she’s that guard who can get us a basket whenever we need one,” Moseley said. “She’s young and we’re trying to get her to know when to push the ball and when to slow it down.
“Jamiya Ratliff also played well and we need to get her more touches. There were a few times when she was wide open, but the guards didn’t see her.”
Helping the team get out to a 13-4 lead in the first quarter was a deep two from sophomore forward Ryelan Lyerly.
Junior Nyla Stroman hit a three-pointer, her only points of the game, seconds before the buzzer from the left wing.
Adding two points apiece in the second quarter were senior Miccah Wall and sophomore C’Niya Hinson.
Senior forward Jamiya Ratliff pulls up for a jumper in Tuesday’s scrimmage. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
The Lady Raiders played well in a couple of scrimmages at Terry Sanford High School over the weekend, but Moseley said the team “played a step slower” against Marlboro County.
“We saw some good stuff, but we were a completely different team than we were in Saturday’s scrimmages,” Moseley said. “We were a little slow on the defensive end, and on the offensive end we rushed things.
“That has to do with having a younger team,” he added. “We’ll have our ups and downs, but we need to play with the same intensity that we had on Saturday. It’s going to be a roller coaster, we just need to find some balance.”
On Thursday, both of Richmond’s basketball programs will play in a Green and Gold intersquad scrimmage as a final wrap up of the preseason. The girls will play at 5:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 6:30 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a full season preview for the Lady Raiders, as well as one for the Richmond boys’ basketball team, later this week.
JV Lady Raiders roll past Marlboro County
The junior varsity girls’ basketball team also played the Lady Bulldogs on Tuesday, and earned a 41-16 victory.
JV head coach Tonia Breeden’s team jumped out to a 21-8 halftime lead.
Scoring over half of the JV Lady Raiders’ points was sophomore Jamia Crowder, who notched a game-high 21 points. She had nine field goals and three free throws, including 15 points in the first half.
Adding 6 points each were Quanna Bostic and Jasmine Williams, and Daveah Robinson chipped in 5 points.
