ROCKINGHAM — Ending a three-game Sandhills Athletic Conference losing streak on Tuesday was the Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball team.
The Lady Raiders did so in mercy-rule fashion, using a running clock to defeat conference opponent Hoke County High School 70-22.
As the team played one of its four remaining regular-season games, three Lady Raiders would finish in double digits. Senior point guard Keionna Love led all scorers with 21 points, while junior guard Jayla McDougald added 15 points.
Junior forward Jakerra Covington netted 11 points in the win, as senior Bree Wall and junior Kelly Hoffman both chipped in eight points.
“I gave the team Monday off from practice to see if we could reset a little bit,” head coach Teddy Moseley said. “It was either going to work or it wasn’t and it looked like it did. We struggled on defense a little bit and committed too many fouls, which is something we have to work on.
“Offensively, we had a good night,” he continued. “Keionna had it going, and Jayla also had it going, and I’m so proud of her. Hopefully Jayla can ride that confidence the next three games.”
Richmond (13-8, 4-7 SAC) used a 15-0 run to start the game to help set the tempo early. Love started with six of her 21 points, and Covington and McDougald added five and four points, respectively.
Freshman Kyla Sampson connected on a three-pointer for her only points of the game. Scoring all three of Hoke County’s points was Wynashia Bratcher, coming via the free throw. The Lady Bucks (4-16, 0-11 SAC) didn’t score until the 2:41 mark of the quarter.
Up 18-3 at the start of the second, Richmond added 19 more points. Love and McDougald combined to hit one three-pointer each, and Hoffman came off the bench to score six points, all in transition.
A McDougald drive, two of her quarter-high seven points, with 2:40 left gave Richmond a 30-4 lead. Yaasmeen Sutton ended the drought for Hoke when she hit a three-pointer from the top of the key moments later.
A 5-0 run by McDougald closed the frame and the Lady Raiders took a 37-11 lead into the locker room.
Richmond’s best scoring quarter was the third, seeing 21 more points put on the scoreboard. Wall used a drive through the paint to score her first two points, which started a 6-0 run by the senior guard. She added two free throws and another field goal on the next two possessions.
Love added five points in the third period, coming on two field goals and a free throw. Joining the scoring barrage was senior Jasmine Ewing, who laid the ball up and in with two second left on the clock.
Leading by 38 points to start the fourth, a Love drive at the 7:05 mark started the running clock. Love would add four more free throws before the final buzzer and Covington, Hoffman and Asia Douglas all added two points.
The 48-point win, Moseley said, should prove to be a confidence booster for his team. He added that on any given night a team can put together a win or a loss in the SAC.
He also noted how big of a contribution his bench players had in the win.
“It was big to see Kelly and Kyla score tonight,” Moseley said. “What we need to do is get them contributing more consistently and with confidence. They have to be able to play with some of the better teams in the conference.”
With the win, the Lady Raiders stayed locked into the fifth-place spot in the SAC standings. Up next with be sixth-place Lumberton High School (10-9, 3-6 SAC), a team the Lady Raiders beat earlier in the season.
“We need to continue to play hard,” Moseley said of the upcoming game. “We need to keep improving on defense and put the ball in the basket. I thought the girls scored well tonight and now they need to carry that over.”
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. in Lumberton on Friday.
