SANFORD — All four of Richmond Senior High School’s basketball teams played at Grace Christian School Tuesday, and only one team walked out of the gym with a victory.
The Richmond junior varsity girls’ basketball team kicked off the quadrupleheader against the non-conference Crusaders with a win. After that, the court belonged to Grace Christian.
In the JV girls’ game, Richmond won 47-38. The varsity Lady Raiders lost 83-16, the JV Raiders fell short 47-36 and the varsity Raiders let a three-point deficit at the half end in a 65-46 loss.
JV Lady Raiders overcome slow start
The JV Lady Raiders faced a 20-point deficit after the first quarter of Tuesday’s game at Grace Christian, but they rallied with a strong second quarter and second half to earn a 47-38 win.
Grace Christian led 24-4 after the first and Richmond’s points came from freshman Emani Ingram on a bucket and a free throw, and sophomore Amonie McNeil (free throw).
Head coach Tonia Breeden made a few defensive changes after the slow first quarter and said the team adapted well the rest of the night.
Part of that switch was Richmond holding the JV Lady Crusaders scoreless in the second quarter while closing the gap to 24-15 at halftime. McNeil scored three field goals for six points in the second and sophomore Kaylee Connor netted five points on a bucket and a three-pointer.
A 15-11 run in the third quarter by the JV Lady Raiders cut their deficit to 35-30. Ingram returned to the scoring column with two field goals, and Connor capped her nine-point game with her final four points on two shots from the field.
Sophomore Erin Drumwright, who Breeden credited for her defensive effort, scored her only points in the game on a triple in the third. Scoring the first four of her seven second-half points was sophomore Alexis Mosley on a bucket and two free throws.
The five-point lead for Grace Christian to start the fourth quarter was wiped away when Richmond closed the final eight minutes on a 17-3 run.
McNeil went on a big scoring run, netting 12 points on six field goals. She finished with a game-high 19 points.
Mosley made a shot at the line and added a basket, and Richmond’s other two points came on a field goal from Ingram, who matched Connor’s nine points.
“This was a really great win,” Breeden said. “We got behind early but didn’t panic. I made some changes on defense and the girls did the rest by executing their plays. Turbo (McNeil) and Erin really stepped up defensively and shut down their top two shooters.
“Our girls never gave up and they chipped away little by little until we had the runaway fourth quarter. To say I’m proud of the whole team’s effort would be an understatement.”
With the win, the JV Lady Raiders improved their overall record to 4-2. The team will return to the court Jan. 2 at non-conference West Stanly High School.
Robeson County Shootout begins Wednesday
Hoping to move past their losses Tuesday, the Richmond varsity boys’ and varsity girls’ basketball teams will begin their hopeful run at the Robeson County Shootout title starting Wednesday night.
Both teams will open the holiday tournament at St. Pauls High School. The Lady Raiders (4-2) will play the Lady Bulldogs (3-3) at 6 p.m., followed by the Raiders (4-2) and Bulldogs (0-6) at 7:30 p.m.
The tournament has a championship and consolation bracket. The games for first, third and fifth place will be played at UNC Pembroke Saturday. More information will be provided following each game.
Sports editor’s note: Point totals for the varsity boys’ and girls’ games, as well as the JV boys’ game, were not available at the time of publication.
