FAYETTEVILLE — The Richmond Senior High School Lady Raiders basketball team was back in action for the second time this season Monday, traveling to non-conference Pine Forest High School.
It had been six days since Richmond opened its season last Tuesday with a win over Whiteville High School, and the short break proved to cause the Lady Raiders to come out of the gates a little slower than they wanted. Head coach Teddy Moseley’s team fell to the Lady Trojans by a final score of 74-51, and are now 1-1 on the young season.
With the win, Pine Forest improved to 5-0, and David May’s Lady Trojans used 20-point scoring quarters in the first and fourth quarters, respectively, to put the Lady Raiders away. Leading Richmond in scoring was junior guard Allexis Swiney with 10 points, as sophomore forward Jakerra Covington and sophomore guard Jayla McDougald each chipped in with eight points.
The biggest thing that haunted the Lady Raiders, according to Moseley, was missing opportunities at the free throw line and committing too many unforced errors. On the night, Richmond missed 17 free throws, while also committing 22 turnovers.
“They (Pine Forest) made a little run at end of the first half and that kind of took the air out of us,” Moseley said following the game. “We missed 17 free throws, had 22 free throws, and left too many points in the floor.
“We need to work on that in practice,” he added. “It all goes back to the way we play a fast-tempo offense, and I expect some turnovers, but we beat ourselves tonight. We left 61 (potential) points on the floor — if we get half of those, we win the game.”
Moseley’s squad opened the night by dropping 15 points in the first eight minutes of play, its most points of any quarter. The Lady Raiders’ deficit would only by five points, 20-15, heading into the second stanza.
Richmond would find itself down 10 points in the second quarter, before a scoring charge cut the deficit to just four points. However, the Lady Trojans ended the first half on a lengthy run that saw them go into the locker room up 37-24. Richmond’s nine points in the second quarter was the fewest of any frame during the game.
The second half followed the same narrative as the first, with Pine Forest outscoring the Lady Raiders 37-27. Pine Forest senior point guard Kendal Moore was the night’s leading scorer for both teams, as she finished with 24 points.
“We’re going to watch film (Tuesday), work on some things in practice, and get ready for Southern Lee on Wednesday,” Moseley concluded.
Richmond will look to get back on the right track Wednesday, as it’ll travel to Southern Lee High School (Sandford, N.C.). Tipoff against the Lady Cavaliers (0-5), which lost to Richmond’s Sandhills Athletic Conference foe Hoke County High School 50-40 Monday, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
