ROCKINGHAM — A 10-point third quarter from freshman Nyla Stroman was the difference maker in Tuesday’s junior varsity girls’ basketball game.
The Richmond Senior High School JV girls and first-year head coach Demi Watkins earned the first of four wins by Richmond’s programs to start the season, overcoming a halftime deficit to defeat Anson High School 24-17.
Boasting a lineup of nearly all freshmen, it was Watkins’ first victory as a high school coach.
“I was extremely nervous,” she said. “I’ve played, I’ve refereed, but coaching was all new. Overcoming the slow start had a lot to do with my nerves. I just told the girls to settle down, relax and play ball.”
A total of six combined points were scored in the opening six-minute quarter, as the Lady Raiders used a field goal from C’Nedra Hinson and a pair of free throws by Da’Veah Robinson to take a 4-2 lead into the second quarter.
Anson opened the second stanza on a 5-0 run, but a baseline jumper from Robinson in the final 10 seconds of the half pulled Richmond within one point, 7-6, heading into the break.
Finding her groove in the third quarter was Stroman, whose 10 points were a game-high. The Lady Bearcats took a 9-6 lead in the opening minute, but Stroman answered with a three-pointer at the 3:55 mark of the third. A minute later she splashed home another triple to give Richmond a lead it wouldn’t surrender.
Stroman, who would match all of Anson’s second-half scoring by herself, tacked on another three-pointer and a free throw to give the Lady Raiders a 16-14 lead going into the final stanza.
Robinson would add the final five of her nine total points in the fourth quarter on two layups and a free throw. Sophomores Raven Robinson and Rayana Shubert added two points each to secure the seven-point win.
“She caught the hot hand,” Watkins said of Stroman’s third-quarter clinic. “We needed that. I told her to keep shooting and she took some quality shots.”
One area the JV Lady Raiders will work on ahead of their next game will be shooting from the free throw line after going 7-for-17 against Anson.
Richmond (1-0) will look to complete the regular-season series sweep of Anson (0-1) when it travels to Wadesboro on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 4:15 p.m.
