SANFORD — Moving one win closer to its goal of winning the Sandhills Athletic Conference title, the Lady Raider basketball team made quick work against Southern Lee on Thursday.
Playing in a make-up game from last month that was moved due to wintry weather, Richmond stayed hot by winning its eighth consecutive game.
Behind a running clock, the Lady Raiders bounced the Lady Cavaliers 57-16 to complete the season sweep. When the two teams opened conference play on Dec. 7, Richmond also mercy-ruled Southern Lee.
A pair of free throws from freshman Jamyia Lindsey, two of her game-high 21 points, started the running clock with 7:48 to play in the fourth quarter.
“Tonight was a 41-point win, and it’s hard to be disappointed with that,” head coach Teddy Moseley said. “But it felt like we were playing from behind the whole game. We didn’t shoot the ball well from the free throw line and we didn’t rebound the ball well.
“The things we talked about wanting to improve before the game, we didn’t do those things very well tonight.”
Starting the game on a 14-0 run, Richmond took an 18-2 lead after the opening eight minutes. Five different players scored, including six points each from Lindsey and freshman Rena Drake, who finished with 10 points.
Seniors Miccah Wall and Jai’Maya Ratliff both added the first two of their respective eight points in the game, and sophomore Ryelan Lyerly scored her lone basket of the night.
A 12-5 run in the second gave the Lady Raiders a 30-7 halftime lead. Wall had two putbacks for four points and freshman Quanna Bostic, who made her varsity debut, netted the first four of her six points.
Lindsey and Ratliff tallied two points apiece in the second to maintain the double-digit lead.
Richmond’s best offensive quarter was the third, netting 21 points while holding the Lady Cavs (3-11, 1-8 SAC) to just six points. Lindsey led the way with 11 points coming on a triple, two field goals and four free throws.
Ratliff capped her scoring with her final four points, Drake added a field goal and Bostic knocked down a pair of free throws. Junior Joy Styles made a layup in the paint for her two points.
“Quanna will be with us the rest of the season after the JV season is done,” Moseley said. “She hustles and she plays good defense, and that’s the main thing. We have people who can score, and she’ll help Jamyia (Lindsey) and C’Nedra (Hinson) play defense on the perimeter.”
The fourth quarter clock ran continuously after Lindsey’s final two points, and both Drake and Wall added insurance buckets.
“I told the girls tonight was a trap game, one of those games where you see your competition and don’t get up for it,” Moseley explained. “We played down tonight and I told them this is not the time to do that heading into the postseason.
“We need to be sharp no matter who we play,” he added. “This is the time to sharpen up on things we don’t do well like rebounding, communicating on defense, being patient on offense and being able to run through our sets.”
Only four players for Southern Lee scored, and the Lady Cavs were led by 5 points from Carly Hegwer. Brenta Latta and Sequoia Lindsey each scored 4 points and Dasha Battle had 3 points.
The Lady Raiders (15-4, 9-0 SAC) have a chance to clinch at least a share of the SAC title on Friday for the first time since 2010-11.
Currently holding a lead over second-place Pinecrest, Richmond will travel to fifth-place Lee County (4-13, 3-5 SAC). Play will get underway at 6 p.m.
