SOUTHERN PINES — Suffering its first Sandhills Athletic Conference loss on Wednesday, the Lady Raider basketball team fell to Pinecrest.
Unable to extend its streak to three straight wins, a slow start on offense hindered Richmond in a 54-34 defeat.
Netting just 10 first-half points, the Lady Raiders couldn’t overcome a 26-point third quarter by Pinecrest (4-4, 2-0 SAC).
“Coming into the game, we felt really good about winning,” head coach Teddy Moseley said. “The first half we had too many missed points and we should have been up going into the second half. We have to make the most of our opportunities.
“Our guard play is still hurting us and we have to find someone who can run the offense and run the team,” he added. “In the third quarter, we just shut down.”
Senior Nyla Stroman, who finished with six points, scored all of Richmond’s points in the opening quarter. She hit a pair of field goals from close range, keeping the Lady Raiders within a possession 7-4 at the end of the first.
Pinecrest outscored the Lady Raiders 14-6 in the second period. Getting on the board with two points apiece, all on field goals, were freshman J’Nasia Neal, sophomore Quanna Bostic and senior Keyoni Nichols.
At halftime, the Lady Patriots held a 21-10 lead.
Unable to beat the press to start the third quarter, the Lady Raiders saw their deficit grow to 48-19 in the next eight minutes.
Bostic led the team in scoring with four more points on two free throws and a bucket, while Nichols added the final three of her five points.
Neal, who ended the game tied with Bostic for the team lead with seven points, chipped in another two points.
Richmond’s highest-scoring quarter was the final stanza, as eight players combined to score 15 points.
Neal had her final three points on a bucket and free throw and junior Yasmeen McLaughlin hit a three-pointer.
Stroman, along with junior Makailah Jackson and freshman Olivia Brown, netted two points apiece. Rounding out the scoring with one free throw each were Bostic and juniors Elise Dimery and C’Niya Hinson.
Jasiah Gilchrist led all scorers with 19 points for Pinecrest, followed by Aniyah McGregor (11 points), Zanodiya McNair (8 points) and Jakaya Scott (8 points).
“I think we can get back in the win column on Friday, and there’s no doubt in my mind that we can win this conference,” Moseley closed. “We have to just stop making the same mistakes.”
Richmond (4-8, 2-1 SAC) will look to return to the win column on Friday with a home game against Union Pines High School (3-7, 0-2 SAC). Play will begin at 6 p.m.
