LAURINBURG — Two more matches resulted in another pair of victories for the Richmond Senior High School girls’ bowling team Thursday.
Continuing their perfect start to the season, the Lady Raiders and head coach Ashleigh Larsen were all business in their second Sandhills Athletic Conference meet this winter.
Taking on Union Pines and Hoke County high schools, Richmond defeated the Lady Vikings 5-0 and added a 3-2 victory over the Lady Bucks, a team the Lady Raiders struggled against last season.
Using a limited Union Pines roster to their advantage, the Lady Raiders improved to 4-0 thanks to the final pin count against Hoke County.
“We had another great day of bowling and it was good to stay undefeated,” Larsen said. “We knew going into today that Union Pines only had three bowlers, so we used that match to get into a rhythm and that paid off against Hoke County.
“The girls are making steady progress, especially with their ability to close frames. We did better with that today but we still have some room for improvement. Our returners have been really consistent and some of our new bowlers have continued to put up big numbers. Today was a good chance to add to our points in the standings.”
Clean sweep for Lady Raiders over Union Pines
As long as the Lady Raiders didn’t find the gutter too often, their match with Union Pines was an almost guaranteed victory. The Lady Vikings had just three bowlers in action, which gave Richmond the upperhand in padding its score.
Doing just that, game scores were 103-39, 111-66, 141-54 and 144-41 for a final pin count of 499-200. Picking up five points in the standings, it was the Lady Raiders first shutout this season.
Richmond connected for nine strikes, which tied its single-match season-high, and added nine spares. The team closed 18-of-44 frames (41%) and averaged a score of 124.8 pins per game.
Using a combination of all six bowlers, Richmond was led in the match by freshman Kaylon Wynn. She recorded single-match season-highs in strikes (three), spares (four) and closing percentage (7-for-8, 88%).
Senior anchor Ava Thompson matched those three perfect rolls and added a pair of pickups. She went 5-for-12 (42%).
Senior Hanna Smith, junior Jentry Denson and freshman Sydney Barnes each bowled one strike. Smith added a tandem of spares, Denson had one pickup and junior Skyler Collins helped add to the pin total.
Denson paces team effort to clip Lady Bucks
Similar to their Raider teammates, the Lady Raiders posted several season-bests against Hoke County. After splitting the four games, Richmond notched the match-winning point thanks to the final pin count.
Game scores were 140-118, 114-115, 160-139 and 139-148, which led to a 33-pin difference in favor of Richmond, 553-520.
The six bowlers combined to post season-highs in spares (16), closing percentage (22-for-44, 55%), single-game high score (160), single-match pin total (553) and single-match game average (138.3). Richmond also bowled eight strikes.
Denson was the catalyst against the Lady Bucks, impressing with a 7-for-8 performance and an .880 closing percentage. She rolled two strikes and five spares, both of which were single-match season-highs for her.
Wynn was also a big contributor, rolling three more strikes and a pair of spares (5-for-8, 63%). Thompson’s efforts in the anchor spot yielded six more closed frames in a dozen chances, which added two strikes and a season-high four spares to the scoresheet.
Smith picked up her game and closed half of her eight frames with a strike and three spares, while Collins contributed a pair of spares to ice the win, a personal best for her.
On the day, Wynn (75%) and Denson (56%) were the top two closers for the Lady Raiders between both matches.
The Lady Raiders (4-0) will return to competition next Thursday at the Sandhills Bowling Center in Aberdeen. They’ll face Scotland and Southern Lee high schools and begin at 4 p.m.
PHOTOS: Click here to view photos of Thursday’s match.
