ABERDEEN — It was a tale of two matches on Thursday for the Richmond Senior High School girls’ bowling team.
Starting their new campaign at the Sandhills Bowling Center, the Lady Raiders blanked Southern Lee High School before being shut out by Pinecrest High School.
With the split of its matches against the two Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents, Richmond earned five points to put the team tied for second place.
With six bowlers on the team, only one of them is a returning starter — junior anchor Ava Thompson.
The other five — seniors Dakotah Tschudi, Neely Turner and Katie Way, junior Hanna Smith and sophomore Jentry Denson — all bowled for the first time.
“Despite the loss (to Pinecrest), the girls stepped up and got into a groove,” head coach Ashleigh Larsen said. “It was really great to start our season with a win against Southern Lee.
“They improved each time and adjusted. It’s nothing that a little practice can’t fix.”
Lady Raiders blank Southern Lee
From the opening roll against the Lady Cavaliers, Richmond controlled its first match of the season. Despite not scoring high averages, the Lady Raiders won 5-0.
Game scores were 98-80, 115-89, 86-78, 118-108 for a final score of 417-355. Richmond got the additional point thanks to winning the overall pin count.
Combining as a team to bowl five strikes and nine spares, the Lady Raiders averaged a score of 104.3 pins per game.
Thompson showed her experience by closing out seven total frames, bowling two strikes and five spares. In her debut, Smith matched Thompson’s two perfect rolls to lead the team.
Turner and Denson both managed to close out frames, with Turner contributing a strike and two spares. Denson added a pair of helpers.
Despite not closing out any frames, both Tschudi and Way knocked down pins when needed to help secure the victory.
Higher scores not enough against Pinecrest
Richmond upped the ante against Pinecrest in its second match, but the higher scores couldn’t keep up with the Lady Patriots (2-0).
The Lady Raiders lost all four games by scores of 122-132, 108-156, 109-173 and 140-152 to fall 613-479.
Richmond rolled 10 strikes as a team, added eight spares and increased its average score per game to 119.8 pins. However, Pinecrest’s average score was 153.2.
Smith kept her rhythm going, leading the team with five strikes across the four games. Turner also bowled well, knocking down a trio of strikes and three more spares.
Thompson closed five of her frames with two strikes and three spares at anchor, as Denson and Way both had one spare in the loss.
The Lady Raiders (1-1) will travel to Laurinburg next Thursday for two more matches against Hoke County (1-1) and Union Pines (0-2). Games will start at 4:15 p.m.
