ABERDEEN — After two losses last week, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ bowling team bounced back with a pair of victories on Thursday.
Improving to 3-3 on the season, the Lady Raiders earned a pair of 4-1 victories over Scotland and Southern Lee high schools.
The two wins added eight more points to the team’s season total, which now sits at 17 points.
“We had a shaky start against Southern Lee,” head coach Ashleigh Larsen said. “But the girls settled down and did well in being able to maintain control of the game.
“They finally came together and were able to get into a groove against Scotland,” she added. “As a team we did a much better job closing frames more consistently later in the day.”
The Lady Raiders closed 42.9% (18-of-42) of their frames against Scotland, which was a single-match season-high for the team.
Richmond followed that with a 40% closing mark between both matches (34-for-85), besting last week’s combined percentage by nearly 10%.
Several season-highs for Lady Raiders against Scotland
Across the board, the Lady Raiders’ match against Scotland was its best to date this season. Richmond cruised to victory behind scores of 113-81, 109-112, 142-99 and 129-108. The final pin count was 493-400.
The Lady Raiders bowled a season-high single-game score (142), pin total (493) and game average (123.3). Several players also collected season-highs in strikes and spares.
Making a leap to lead the team with a 62.5% closing percentage was senior Katie Way. She shut the door on five of her eight frames with a season-best two strikes and three spares.
Junior Ava Thompson stayed in the anchor position and closed half of her 10 frames. She rolled four strikes, a season-high, with one spare.
Junior Hanna Smith and sophomore Jentry Denson both went 3-for-8 (37.5%). Smith had a strike and two spares while Denson picked up a trio of helpers. Senior Neely Turner bowled two spares.
Season-high team spares lead Richmond past Lady Cavs
A total of 13 spares from three bowlers helped Richmond complete the season sweep over the Lady Cavaliers. After falling behind after the first game, the Lady Raiders picked up three wins with scores of 99-117, 94-90, 118-81, 132-94.
Earning the extra point with a pin total of 443-382, Richmond closed 16-of-43 frames (37.2%). Turner was the leading bowler this time around, going 6-for-8 (75%) with a strike and five spares.
Way, who finished the day as the team’s leader in combined closing percentage (56.2%), knocked down a season-high four spares in her eight frames.
Thompson was 5-for-11 (45.4%) with a strike and four more spares. Richmond’s only other closed frame was a strike by Denson.
Smith and senior Dakotah Tschudi both competed in the match and added pins to the total, but didn’t close out any of their four frames apiece.
Now halfway through the regular season, the Lady Raiders will bowl again on Jan. 4 against Pinecrest and Scotland in Laurinburg, beginning at 4 p.m.
