RAEFORD — For the second time in three days, the Rockingham Middle School girls’ basketball team cruised past its opponent to earn a conference win.
Hitting the road for the first time this winter, the Lady Rockets and head coach Teresa Mason rolled past West Hoke Middle School, defeating the Lady Tigers 54-10. The 54 points were a season-high for Rockingham, and the 44-point margin of victory was also the team’s largest this year.
Improving to 2-0, seventh grader Jamyia Lindsey led the Lady Rockets with a season-high 16 points. She followed up a 15-point performance from Monday’s season opener and leads all of Rockingham’s scorers with 31 points in two games.
J’Nasia Neal chipped in 14 points, also a season-high for her. Helping rout the Lady Tigers were C’Niya Hinson (6 points), and Nazyiah Crump, MaKailah Jackson, Jasmine Jennings and Keyoni Nichols each netted 4 points. Rounding out the attack was Tenaziah McNeil with 2 points.
Mason and company will return to the court following Christmas break, and pick back up at Ellerbe Middle School (0-2) on Tuesday, Jan 7. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
Rockets edged by Tigers for first loss
Following the girls’ game, the Rockets couldn’t complete the sweep of the Tigers as they fell 46-44 to West Hoke.
Eighth grader Paul McNeil led Rockingham for the second game in a row, matching his season-high with 24 points. Although McNeil’s scoring outburst set the tone for Rockingham, no other Rocket would score more than seven points. McNeil has 48 points through two games this season.
Teammate Jada Zimmerman was the team’s second-leading scoring with 7 points, while Jordan Covington and Noah Jenks each chipped in 5 points. Also finding the basket in the loss were James Eason (2 points) and Jaziah Liles, who contributed a free throw.
“It was a tough but humbling loss for us last night,” head coach Julius Bowden said. “I thought the effort was good, but we really struggled shooting the ball from the perimeter.”
The Rockets (1-1) will also return to the hardwood against Ellerbe (1-1) on Jan. 7. The game will begin around 5:30 p.m. following the girls’ game.
Julius Bowden and Teresa Mason contributed to this report. To submit middle school sports scores, email sports editor Kyle Pillar at kpillar@richmondobserver.com.
