LAURINBURG — A showdown between two Sandhills Athletic Conference heavyweights ended in the Lady Raiders’ favor on Tuesday against rival Scotland High School.
Overcoming a five-point fourth-quarter deficit, and using a 19-8 run late in the game, the Lady Raiders defeated the Lady Fighting Scots 59-53.
With the victory, the Lady Raiders pulled ahead in the conference standings and now sit alone in first place as the only remaining undefeated team.
Richmond outlasted Scotland thanks to a 25-point performance from freshman point guard Jamyia Lindsey.
Having a career night was senior center Jai’Maya Ratliff, who netted a personal best 24 points and added 12 rebounds.
Head coach Teddy Moseley said he challenged his team heading into the fourth quarter down a point, 39-38, and the Lady Raiders responded by getting themselves into first place.
“Coming into tonight’s game with both of us being undefeated (in conference play), this win was really big for us and it puts us in the driver’s seat,” Moseley said. “Everyone is chasing us now but we want to continue to stretch this lead a little further.
“In the fourth quarter I challenged the girls and told them Scotland wanted it more than they did,” he added. “Our goal was to leave in first place and they dug down deep to find a way to win.”
The Lady Raiders opened the game by taking a 17-12 lead after the first quarter. Trailing by a point with just over three minutes remaining, Richmond went on a 7-1 run to take a five-point advantage into the second.
Lindsey started her scoring with nine points in the first, netting four field goals and adding a free throw. Ratliff hit a pair of field goals for four points, and senior Miccah Wall and freshman Rena Drake added two points each.
Scotland outscored Richmond 12-8 in the second quarter, but four more points from Ratliff helped the Lady Raiders take a 25-24 lead into the break. Ratliff knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:21 left and the defense forced several missed shots in the final minute.
Keeping the Lady Scots close was their perimeter shooting, which saw five first-half three-pointers. Sophomore Madysan Hammonds, who finished with a team-high 17 points, connected on four triples in the first half.
“We really weren’t expecting No. 24 (Hammonds) to come out hot and now we know,” Moseley explained. “Our goal was to chase her off the three-point line, and the times we did that, she turned it over.”
Freshman Jamyia Lindsey, who scored a game-high 25 points, prepares to shoot a free throw in the final minute of Tuesday’s win over Scotland. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Three ties in the third quarter saw the Lady Scots outscore Richmond 15-13 to take a one-point lead into the final stanza. Lindsey (eight points) and Ratliff (five points) combined for all of the Lady Raiders’ points.
A 6-2 run by the home team to start the fourth saw Richmond’s deficit grow to five points, 45-40. But a Ratliff putback with 6:36 to play ignited the 19-8 game-winning stretch by the Lady Raiders.
Ratliff scored her final 11 points in the third, including a stretch where she scored nine straight points for the team, featuring a triple.
Lindsey netted six points in the fourth, all from the free throw line. With the game tied 50-50, Lindsey hit a pair from the charity stripe to start a 9-3 run to secure the win.
Sophomore Ryelan Lyerly scored on jumpers from opposite sides of the floor for her four points in the fourth quarter.
A three-pointer from Morgan Thompson, who finished with 16 points, in the closing seconds wasn’t enough to close the gap for Scotland (10-3, 4-1 SAC).
“Jamyia Lindsey has been consistent all year, and Jai’Maya Ratliff is peaking at the right time,” Moseley shared. “She’s had a couple of good games the last few games and then comes out with a career high tonight.
“Not only did Jai’Maya (Ratliff) have big shots throughout the game, she had a big fourth quarter. And Jamyia (Lindsey) hit some important free throws late.”
The Lady Raiders (11-4, 5-0 SAC) will travel again on Friday to Southern Lee High School (3-8, 1-4 SAC) and look to stay atop the standings.
In the teams’ first meeting, Richmond earned a 57-13 win. Play will begin at 6 p.m.
