ROCKINGHAM — One aspect of play that Richmond head girls basketball coach Teddy Moseley has stressed this season is connecting on free throws.
And it was made free throws down the stretch that helped the Lady Raiders earn a clutch win over Sandhills Athletic Conference foe Jack Britt High School Friday night.
In a tightly contested, low-scoring affair, the Lady Raiders bounced back from a disappointing performance Thursday against Forest Hills High School with a 36-33 win against the Lady Buccaneers. The win completed the first half of Richmond’s schedule, as the team now sits with a 6-6 overall record, but more importantly, a 2-1 record against SAC teams.
“We wanted to break the season down into four quarters,” Moseley said of the team’s 24-game regular season schedule. “We were 4-2 in the first quarter, we didn’t have a winning record in the second quarter, but we’re 6-6 and tied at the halfway point of the season. The leg up is that we’re 2-1 in the conference.
“Our free throws were a lot better tonight — we shot over 50 percent from the line,” he added of the 14-for-27 performance from the line. “I’d like for it to be 60 or 70 percent, but I can live with 50 percent. We hit the free throws we needed to in order to win.”
The Lady Raiders jumped out to an early 13-11 lead at the end of the first eight minutes of play, with sophomore forward Jakerra Covington netting the team’s first six points of the game. Fellow sophomore Jayla McDougald gave Richmond its first lead of the game with a three-pointer from the right wing with 2:43 to go in the first quarter, capping off a 5-0 Lady Raider run.
But Jack Britt’s Ashara Hayes and Amber Nealy took control of the second quarter, combining for 12 of the Lady Bucs’ 14 points in the quarter. The scoring surge, coupled with just six points from the Lady Raiders, including a three-pointer by junior Layne Maultsby, gave Jack Britt a 25-19 halftime lead.
The scoring woes continued for both teams in the second half, as neither squad was able to muster double digits in either frame. Richmond shot 10-of-60 from the field in the game, with only three of those field goals coming in the second half. According to Moseley, the team is currently shooting 21 percent from the floor on the season.
“It was a defensive struggle tonight,” Moseley shared. “It was two great defensive teams going at it. Jack Britt is a young team like us, they play good defense and are well-coached. We are just glad to be able to come out with a win.”
Luckily for the Lady Raiders, Jack Britt’s shooters also went cold in the final 16 minutes of regulation, and the home team pulled within a bucket, 30-28, at the end of the third quarter.
In the final stanza, the Lady Raiders went 6-for-15 at the line, but those six made free throws were enough to ice the victory. McDougald tied the game at 30 in the opening minute of the fourth, but the next basket for either team wouldn’t come until there was 1:42 left on the clock.
Senior forward Taliah Wall broke the tie and hit the go-ahead free throw after she was fouled driving in the paint. Junior Allexis Swiney, who returned to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game due to illness, tacked on two more free throws at the 1:19 mark.
Things intensified on the ensuing inbound, as freshman Allyiah Swiney swiped the ball from Jack Britt on the press, allowing Moseley to call a timeout and maintain possession with just over a minute to play. The turnover forced the Lady Bucs to foul, sending Covington and Maultsby to the line, as they each hit one of their two shots.
Hayes splashed a three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left on the clock to cut the Richmond lead to 35-33, but another foul called on Jack Britt with 0.01 seconds left sent Covington to the line again. She scored the final tally of the night to wrap up her team-high 11-point performance.
“Jakerra is our engine and we go through her,” Moseley said of his leading scorer, who finished with a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. “Jayla also played tremendous tonight.”
McDougald joined Covington as the only other double-digit scorer for Richmond, as she finished with 10 points. Six other Lady Raiders notched points in the win, with Maultsby’s four points being the third-highest tally.
Hayes finished with a game-high 12 points, while Nealy tacked on 10 points of her own for Jack Britt.
Moseley and company will look to keep up their winning ways against SAC opponents, as they’ll host Hoke County High School (7-5, 1-2 SAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 8. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Raider Gymnasium.
