ROCKINGHAM — A strong fourth-quarter performance and a career high in points for one Lady Raider helped make the difference in Friday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference showdown between Richmond and Scotland high schools.
Junior guard Layne Maultsby had her best outing in her two varsity seasons, as she scored a career-high 14 points in the Lady Raiders’ 46-38 come-from-behind victory over the Lady Fighting Scots.
She netted nine first-half points, all three-pointers, and came up big with three more points in the fourth quarter to help secure the win.
On Tuesday, the Lady Raiders suffered a double-digit loss to Seventy-First High School on the road. First-year head coach Teddy Moseley used that loss to fuel Richmond’s win, its second win in the last three contests against Scotland.
“I told the girls after the Seventy-First game that we lost, but I wasn’t happy with the way we lost,” Moseley shared. “I don’t think we gave our best effort in that game, and that’s what we’ve been talking about in practice the past two days.
“I want the girls to have pride in what they do (on the court),” he added. “I took their practice jerseys and told them they didn’t play with Raider pride. That message got to them tonight and they played a lot better.”
Richmond (8-8, 4-3 SAC) came out of the gates a little slow, letting Scotland jump out to a 5-0 lead. But Maultsby responded with back-to-back triples and gave the Lady Raiders a 6-5 lead at the 5:20 mark. Sophomore Jakerra Covington and freshman Jamiya Ratliff each added a field goal in the closing minutes to end the first quarter with a 10-9 lead.
The second quarter saw Richmond outscored 12-7, as another Maultsby three-pointer from the left corner gave the home team a 15-14 lead with 5:25 to go. But Scotland would gain the edge on a three-pointer by Niaria Leach on the next possession, and gain a lead it would hold until the fourth quarter.
Down 21-17 at the half, another low-scoring quarter in the third saw the Lady Fighting Scots maintain a 29-24 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
But that’s when Moseley’s squad found its stride, and outscored Scotland 22-9 in the closing frame. Sophomore Jayla McDougald scored eight of her team second-best 11 points in the quarter, nailing two three-pointers in the process.
Also getting in on the scoring parade was freshman guard Allyiah Swiney, who netted five of her nine points in the fourth. Maultsby opened the quarter with a free throw and a deep two, and was followed by a Covington drive that gave Richmond its first lead, 31-29, since the first quarter.
The next five Richmond points came from Swiney, as she went coast-to-coast for a layup, and then stole the ensuing inbound pass for an easy bucket. She added a shot from the charity stripe just over two minutes later.
Scotland (6-10, 1-6 SAC) would make a run to cut the deficit to four points, 38-34, with 2:47 left on a pair of Leach free throws. But that’s as close as the Lady Fighting Scots would get, as a McDougald triple started an 8-4 Richmond run to close out the final two and a half minutes.
Down the stretch, the Lady Fighting Scots missed eight of their 13 fourth-quarter free throw attempts. Richmond shot 37.5 percent from the field (18-for-48).
Moseley noted that Friday’s performance was “the same game we play every game, coming out flat” in both halves before “making runs” in the latter parts. But he was glad to see the 22-9 run come in the fourth quarter.
“Layne was really big for us tonight,” the head coach said. “We’ve been working all week with her on catching the ball ready to shoot. Her first instinct (has been) to pass the ball right back, but I want her to shoot. And that’s what she did tonight and she was really confident.
“Allyiah is a freshman and the game is starting to slow down for her,” Moseley added. “Physically, she has all the tools — and there’s a big difference between now and the beginning of the season. Jayla stepped up, too, and hit a couple big threes when we needed her to.
Friday’s win marked the seventh time this season that the Lady Raider defense held a team to 40 or fewer points en route to a victory. Moseley shared he was “proud” of his team’s defensive efforts, but still thinks there’s room for some improvement.
Leach was the game’s leading scorer with 16 points, and was followed by Maultsby (14) and McDougald (11). Swiney finished with nine points for Richmond, while Covington tacked on eight more. The other top two scorers for Scotland were Nautika Moore and Asjah Swindell, both of whom finished with seven points.
Richmond will be back in action next Friday, Jan. 25, as it looks to complete the season sweep against Purnell Swett High School (4-9, 0-5 SAC). Tip off is set for 6 p.m. in Raider Gymnasium.
