ROCKINGHAM — It may have taken until the final 5.2 seconds of the game to decide, but the Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCHSAA 4A East state playoffs on Tuesday.
In dramatic fashion, a forced turnover by freshman point guard Jamyia Lindsey on an inbound by No. 25 Wake Forest High School led to her hitting both ends of a one-and-one to help the No. 8 Lady Raiders to a 47-45 win.
Advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-11 season, the Lady Raiders used a game-high 24 points from Lindsey to give head coach Teddy Moseley his first career postseason victory.
Having to battle against a Lady Cougar team that had height and three-point range, Richmond secured its 20th win of the season. It’s just the second time in school history that the boys’ and girls’ teams have both reached that mark.
In a back-and-forth game, the Lady Raiders took a 10-9 lead after the first quarter. Sophomore Ryelan Lyerly got the scoring started with a three-pointer from the right wing for her only points of the game with 5:45 to play.
Senior Jai’Maya Ratliff, who added 8 points in the win, knocked down a free throw. Lindsey scored on a basket, a free throw and gave the home team the lead with a three-pointer from the left side with 31 seconds left.
Wake Forest (14-12) stayed close with two triples and three free throws. Senior Emilee Lewis, who had a team-high 18 points on six three-pointers, had one and teammate Taya Simpkins added the first of her three triples.
A 14-6 run in the second quarter by the Lady Cougars saw Richmond’s deficit grow to seven points, 23-16, with just under two minutes before the half. Lewis rattled in three triples for 12 points at the break.
Lindsey added eight more points in the second, netting three field goals and two free throws. The pair of shots from the line stopped a 6-0 run by Wake Forest in the final minute.
Junior teammate Nyla Stroman sank a three-pointer from the right wing with 41 seconds left to make it a two-point deficit, 23-21, at the break. That shot was her only points of the game.
Junior Nyla Stroman (20) scores her lone three-pointer of the game. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Richmond turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and outscored Wake Forest 15-8 in the third. Ratliff hit a shot under the net, followed by a 4-0 run by Lindsey, including a three-pointer off the glass.
Junior guard C’Nedra Hinson joined the scoring with a three-ball from the right corner to give Richmond a two-point lead with 1:25 to play.
Two Lindsey free throws, a Ratliff transition jumper and a putback by freshman Rena Drake in the final 60 seconds made it a 36-30 advantage.
Lewis, who was held to just six points in the second half, added another three-pointer. Simpkins mirrored that with a three-pointer in the frame, and Amina Miles scored the first two of her four points in the game.
To open the fourth, a Hinson transition layup and three points from Ratliff extended Richmond’s lead to six points. But a 9-0 run by the Lady Cougars, featuring one three-pointer each from Lewis, Simpkins and Shayla Rodriguez put Wake Forest up 44-42.
Following a Richmond timeout, Hinson added the final of her 7 points on a layup with 52 seconds to play to tie the game.
Junior C’Nedra Hinson (12) lays in two points to tie the game with 52 seconds left. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
A Rodriguez free throw with 31.2 ticks left made it a 45-44 Wake Forest lead, but that was answered when Lindsey knocked down one of her two attempts from the line with 23.7 seconds left.
On the game-deciding inbound pass by Wake Forest, Lindsey stole the ball from a dribbling Miles just outside the paint. Fouling her was Lewis, which sent Lindsey to the line to secure the win.
No. 8 Richmond (20-5) will welcome in No. 9 D.H. Conley High School (18-4) for the second round on Thursday. The game will start at 6 p.m.
The Lady Vikings defeated No. 24 South View High School 64-44 in the opening round.
