ROCKINGHAM — Lock down defense quickly turned into offense for the Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball team on Tuesday.
The Lady Raiders opened Sandhills Athletic Conference play at home against a winless Pinecrest High School team and kept it there.
Trying to win its second conference title in three seasons, Richmond started in the right direction with a 77-39 victory.
Junior point guard Jamyia Lindsey and sophomore guard Jasiah Gilchrist were a two-player wrecking crew, combining for 47 points.
Lindsey nearly had a triple-double, finishing with a game-high 24 points with eight assists and eight steals. Gilchrist netted a career-high 23 points to go along with seven steals.
Head coach Teddy Moseley said after the game that the entire team’s defensive effort allowed the Lady Raiders an easy lane to the basket.
A total of 10 players scored for the Lady Raiders. Other scorers were Madisen Jackson (8 points, 6 rebounds), MaKailah Jackson (4 points, 6 rebounds), Rena Drake (5 points), Ryelan Lyerly (3 points) and Jamia Crowder, Yasmen McLaughlin, J’Nasia Neal and Kaylan Parsons (all with 2 points).
An early four point run by the Lady Patriots (0-5, 0-1 SAC) gave them their only lead of the game. A drive by senior MaKailah Jackson began a 7-0 stretch that put the Lady Raiders up for good.
Adding to the run were a Gilchrist free throw, a steal and transition bucket by Lindsey and a putback off the glass by Madisen Jackson.
Pinecrest stopped the run with a free throw, but Richmond ended the final 4:25 of the first on a 12-4 run.
Gilchrist scored two more of her six first-quarter points off a turnover, followed by Lindsey banking a rebound off the glass. MaKailah Jackson made it 13-7 with a close-range field goal.
In the closing 30 seconds, the Lady Raiders used a triple from Gilchrist and another Lindsey steal and transition bucket to go up 18-9.
A productive second quarter yielded a 22-point halftime lead for Richmond. An 18-2 run by the home team to start the second helped distance the Lady Raiders for good.
Neal had a free throw to start the scoring, which was followed by a Lindsey transition basket and five straight points from Drake. Gilchrist had five of the next seven points, including a three-pointer, with Lindsey adding the other two.
A field goal and a free throw from Madisen Jackson gave the Lady Raiders their biggest lead of the first half 36-11. Gilchrist, Neal, Lindsey and McLaughlin combined for six points to make it 42-20 at the break.
Five players added to Richmond’s lead in the third, including a quarter-high eight points from Lindsey. She had three field goals and two free throws. Gilchrist chipped in six points on two buckets and two shots from the line.
Madisen Jackson capped her night with a triple from the right corner, Lyerly completed an old-fashioned three-point play and Parsons scored her first varsity points just before the end of the quarter.
Leading 64-29, Richmond ran out most of the clock in the fourth quarter. Gilchrist scored her final five points, besting her previous career-high from her freshman season by two points.
Lindsey, who is averaging 20.5 points per game this season, netted four points down the stretch. MaKailah Jackson and Crowder each had a field goal.
Pinecrest was led in scoring by Stella Apke and Zanodiya McNair, both of whom had 8 points.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Lady Raiders (3-3, 1-0 SAC), who will host Wilson High School (1-0) on Wednesday.
The non-conference game against the Lady Tigers (Florence, S.C.) will be played at the Ninth Grade Academy and begin at 5:30 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a recap of the junior varsity girls’ basketball team’s game at Pinecrest on Wednesday.
