Home Local Sports Ratliff’s 27 points guide Lady Raiders to season sweep of Pinecrest

Ratliff’s 27 points guide Lady Raiders to season sweep of Pinecrest

Senior Jai'Maya Ratliff (24) scores two of her career-high 27 points in Wednesday's win.
Kyle Pillar — Sports Editor.

SOUTHERN PINES — Unlike the last time the two teams met in early December, the Lady Raiders didn’t need overtime to defeat Pinecrest High School on Wednesday.

The first-place Lady Raiders completed the season sweep of the third-place Lady Patriots with a 53-46 victory. 

It also marked the team’s fifth straight win and it helped the Lady Raiders stay undefeated in Sandhills Athletic Conference play.

Coming up big on the scoreboard for Richmond with her second straight double-double was senior center Jai’Maya Ratliff. She scored a career-high 27 points and added 15 rebounds.

Also scoring in double figures was freshman point guard Jamyia Lindsey, who added 11 points. She scored seven points in the first half before adding four points in the second.

Richmond started off with a 7-0 run to begin the game, including five points from Ratliff. Freshman Rena Drake scored her two points of the game to extend the lead.

Three free throws by Lindsey stretched the lead to 10-2, and Richmond held on down the stretch of the opening quarter to take a 16-7 lead into the second.

A slow-scoring second quarter saw Richmond put just five points on the board, all courtesy of Ratliff. 

Pinecrest used a 14-5 run in the second to tie the game at 21 points heading into halftime. Jakaya Scott, who led Pinecrest with 12 points, scored 10 points in the second period.

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Both teams played an evenly matched third quarter, trading buckets, but the Lady Raiders managed to take a 37-35 lead thanks to a three-pointer from sophomore forward Ryelan Lyerly with five seconds left.

Lyerly, who finished with 7 points and 5 rebounds, also scored two more points in the third on a pair of free throws.

Ratliff kept her scoring going with seven points in the third and junior wing C’Nedra Hinson splashed down the first of her two three-pointers in the game. Lindsey, who was facing foul trouble, had one point in the third.

Helping the Lady Patriots (9-5, 3-2 SAC) keep pace in the third were four points each from Emmie Modlin, Aniyah Jackson and Britteny Sparrow. Adding two of her 10 points was Jada Dokes.

With Richmond leading by two early in the fourth, a 6-0 run by the Lady Patriots put them ahead 43-39. But Hinson answered with a three-ball from the left wing, which ignited a decisive 11-2 stretch by Richmond.

In the closing 3:47, Ratliff added her final eight points, including a lay-in at the buzzer to ice the win. Lindsey added a transition bucket and hit a free throw, and rebounds by Hinson and Lyerly helped force Pinecrest to foul.

Richmond (12-4, 6-0 SAC) will play at home for the first time in over a month when it hosts last-place Hoke County High School (1-15, 0-7 SAC) on Friday. The game will begin at 6 p.m.

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Senior Jai’Maya Ratliff and Coach Teddy Moseley discuss Wednesday’s win over Pinecrest to remain atop the SAC standings.



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Kyle Pillar is a 22-time North Carolina Press Association award-winning sports editor with The Richmond Observer. Follow the sports department on X @ROSports_ for the best in-depth coverage of Richmond County sports.