SANFORD – The scene for the Lady Raiders’ varsity basketball team was a lot different Wednesday, as it traveled to non-conference opponent Southern Lee High School.
Richmond and first-year head coach Teddy Moseley rebounded from Monday’s 25-point loss to Pine Forest High School with a 53-18 victory over the Lady Cavaliers. Wednesday’s road win put the Lady Raiders at 2-1 on the young season.
Thanks to a strong defensive press in the first half that created ample turnovers and transition scoring opportunities, the Lady Raiders surged out of the gates to a 30-5 half time lead. Unlike in the loss to Pine Forest, Richmond was on the right side of the turnovers, as Moseley noted that set the tone early for his team.
“The effort was really good tonight,” Moseley said after career win No. 2. “The girls played hard and we got a lot of good shots. We’ve put up over 100 shots in the last two games and they’re going to start falling.
“Defensively, we also looked really good,” he added. “A lot of our points come off turnovers and in transition, but we also need to score in a half-court set.”
Leading Richmond on the scoresheet was junior center Jardai Tillman, who had team-highs with eight points and seven rebounds. Eleven Lady Raiders found the basket, with seven of them scoring five or more points.
Juniors Layne Maultsby and Bree Wall, as well as freshman Allyiah Swiney, each had six points, while junior teammates Hailey Miller, Jasmine Ewing and Allexis Swiney added five points of their own.
Seven different Lady Raiders would score points in the first quarter, giving the visiting team a 19-2 advantage by the end of the first eight minutes. Tillman, whose presence was noted down low, netted eight of her total points in the first half, with five of them coming in a row in a span of 48 seconds in the closing part of the quarter.
Also putting five points on the board in the first frame was Allyiah Swiney, who hit two buckets in transition and added a free throw. The Lady Cavs (0-6) scored their lone field goal in the quarter with 5:15 to go, but that started a six-minute scoring drought that would extend into the second quarter.
Maultsby jumped in on the defensive effort, as she helped close out the 16-0 first-quarter run by swiping a steal at half court and laying it in with 10 seconds to go. Just prior, sophomore Jayla McDougald drained a three-pointer at the top of the key, her only points of the night.
The second quarter was much of the same for Richmond, as Moseley’s crew out-performed the Lady Cavaliers 11-3. Maultsby carried over her efforts off the bench, nabbing two more steals, both leading to buckets. She laid one in, while Miller collected an offensive rebound to score her first points of the night.
Allexis Swiney hit back-to-back layups in transition off steals with 3:38 to go in the half to put Richmond up 27-4. The Lady Raiders got their largest lead of the first half, 26 points, when Tillman hit a baseline turn-around jumper with 1:20 to go.
Junior Layne Maultsby (center) forces a turnover in Wednesday’s win.
Out of the halftime break, Richmond was a little slower than Moseley wanted. The Lady Raiders added nine points in the third quarter, with Ewing and junior teammate Jessie Matheson draining three-pointers.
In the final stanza, Richmond went ahead by 34 points on a Miller free throw halfway through the period. Maultsby added her final two points when she drained two free throws down the home stretch, as Richmond saw its lead grow to a game-high 35 points at the final buzzer. During the final minute and a half of play, the Lady Raiders played keep away to secure the win.
“Jardai was big tonight,” Moseley said. “We’ve been preaching patience with her – when she gets the ball she make things happen. When she’s patient, she can score a lot of points. I was impressed with how she got position tonight and took good shots.”
“We need to hit our free throws and layups and stop committing turnovers,” Moseley said of areas of needed improvement. “We have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We were 19-of-57 from the field, and we missed 15 free throws. I know we can do better – and we need to make those baskets against teams like Pinecrest. But I was pleased with the effort of all the girls.”
The Lady Raiders will be back in action for the third time this week, and their third road game over an hour from home, as they’ll travel to Ronald Reagan High School Friday. Tipoff against the Reagan Lady Raiders (2-3) is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Note: In the Lady Raiders’ junior varsity game, Richmond defeated Southern Lee 32-17. It was head coach Mitch Coe’s team’s second contest of the season, as freshman Jaimaya Ratliff scored a team-high nine points.
Also netting significant points in the win were sophomores Mya Bryant (six points) and Asia Douglas (five points), and freshmen Shelly Hoffman and Kaitlyn Huff each added four points. The JV Lady Raiders are 2-0.
