ROCKINGHAM — The journey toward a hopeful playoff seed ended early for the Lady Raider basketball team on Tuesday in the opening round of the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament.
No. 4 Richmond needed to win the championship in order to clinch an NCHSAA 4A playoff berth, but a fourth-quarter comeback against No. 5 Lee County came up short.
Despite a season-high 21-point performance from sophomore Jamyia Lindsey in her fourth game back from an ACL injury, the Lady Raiders suffered a 48-41 loss to end their season.
Richmond outscored the Lady Yellow Jackets in the first and fourth quarters, but a scoring lapse in the middle two periods led to the defeat.
Trailing by as many as 10 points in the final eight minutes, the Lady Raiders cut their deficit as close as three points. Lindsey had her final nine points in the stanza, netting a trio of three-pointers.
“We made a good run in the fourth quarter, but Jamyia ran out of gas. She gave what she could and put the team on her back, but she had to have some help,” head coach Teddy Moseley said.
“Our defensive effort tonight wasn’t the same as the last time we played them. We were flat, which is the same thing that has plagued us all year. We’re still making the same mistakes now as we were when the season started.”
Moseley noted that free throws were also an issue on Tuesday, as Richmond connected on just 5-of-17 from the line. Lee County hit 15-of-22 from the foul line.
Five lead changes and three ties highlighted a back-and-forth first quarter. Richmond used a mix of its outside shooting and productivity in the paint to take a 10-8 lead.
Lindsey led the team with seven points in the first, but it was senior guard Kyla Sampson who netted the first basket of the game. She hit a three-pointer from the left wing to make it 3-0.
After Gillian Garrison answered with six of her 21 points for Lee County, Lindsey got to work. She scored a free throw and added a drive and an and-one opportunity to regain a one-point lead.
The Lady Yellow Jackets (14-8, 6-7 SAC) used two free throws from Nya South, but Lindsey stepped up in transition for a triple at the top of the arc to go ahead 10-8 with 2:20 left.
That score held at the buzzer, but a 15-6 stretch by Lee County in the second sent Richmond into the locker room down by its largest deficit of the half.
Garrison continued her production, netting nine points in the second period. Lindsey tied the game 12-12 with two shots from the line, but four straight points from Garrison forced a timeout.
Senior Nyla Stroman joined the scoring with all of her points in the second, laying in a pair of shots down low on dishes from Lindsey. Four more points from Garrison gave the visitors a 23-16 lead at the break.
Five Lady Raiders found the basket in the third quarter, but the team’s deficit fell to as many as 13 points. Down 26-16, sophomore Quanna Bostic scored the first two of her five points on a drive, which was followed by Sampson’s final points of the game on another three-ball.
A 5-0 run by Lee County opened the lead back to double digits, until junior C’Niya Hinson connected on a free throw with 3:43 left. Freshman J’Nasia Neal hit a baseline jumper for her two points.
With 27 seconds left in the third, Lindsey made her second of five three-pointers, pulling Richmond within 10 points, 37-27, heading into the fourth.
A 13-7 scoring run by Richmond brought some energy back to the team, seeing Lindsey splash down three more shots from beyond the arc. Bostic capped her night with a triple and junior Makailah Jackson hit a mid-range jumper for two points.
Lindsey’s final three-pointer came at the 2:24 mark and made it a 44-41 Lee County lead. Richmond forced a couple of turnovers in the final minutes and had chances around the basket, but the Lady Yellow Jackets moved on thanks to four made free throws.
The Lady Raiders finished the season with a 9-15 overall record and a 6-7 mark against SAC opponents, including the SAC tournament, in Moseley’s fifth season with the program.
Tying Union Pines for third place in the regular-season standings, Richmond will not qualify for the NCHSAA 4A state playoffs.
In 24 games this season, the Lady Raiders averaged 34.5 points per game, while allowing 46.8 points against.
“We grew some, but the main thing we told the girls is they need to really see what it is they need to do to get better,” Moseley said. “Every person has to get better. Jamyia has to get better, I have to get better.
“This season was a rollercoaster ride, up and down, twists and turns,” he closed. “We never knew what to expect. We didn’t compete at the level that we should have in every game this year.”
The Richmond Observer will publish an All-Conference article when the team is announced later this month.
