CAMERON — Revenge was sought for one team Tuesday, while another’s bid for a perfect season came to an end.
Using a buzzer-beater loss a few weeks ago as motivation, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball team got even with Union Pines High School.
A showdown between two of the state’s top players in Jamyia Lindsey (Richmond) and Ashanti Fox (Union Pines) resulted in a 59-43 victory for the Lady Raiders, their fifth straight win.
Evening the season series and pulling ahead for a half-game lead in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings, Richmond ended the Lady Vikings’ 18-game winning streak.
Nearly outscoring the entire other team for the third time this season, Lindsey finished with 39 points. Fox did most of Union Pines’ scoring, finishing with 33 points.
Jasiah Gilchrist stepped up to fill the void left open in the series’ first game, serving as a crucial second scorer with 12 points. Also scoring for Richmond were Madisen Jackson (4 points) and J’Nasia Neal (3 points).
The Lady Raiders used a 19-11 scoring run in the second quarter, and a 9-0 stretch to start the fourth quarter, to create distance for good in the win.
The game’s first bucket was a three-pointer from the top of the arc by Lindsey, one of her three triples in the first half. That started one of five lead changes in the early period.
A 6-0 run by Union Pines was answered by Richmond when Jackson hit a spinning jumper near the free throw line and Lindsey made a transition basket. The put Richmond ahead 7-6 with just over three minutes to play.
Gilchrist recorded the next six points for Richmond, again erasing a deficit. She connected on a three-ball from the left corner and made a free throw following a foul a couple possessions later.
A transition basket from Gilchrist put the Lady Raiders ahead by five points. Two free throws from the Lady Vikings with 17.1 seconds to go ended the quarter with Richmond ahead 13-11.
Lindsey was dialed in during the second quarter, widening the cushion for the Lady Raiders with 16 of her 21 points in the first half. She quickly put Richmond up 18-11 thanks to two free throws and a triple from the top of the arc.
Neal scored the first of her three points in the second quarter from the line, which was followed by Lindsey finishing a hard drive through the paint.
Leading 24-14, one of several 10-point leads in the second, Richmond used a shot underneath from Neal on a Lindsey assist to maintain a double-digit advantage.
Going on a 19-11 run in the second, Richmond’s final six points were scored by Lindsey. She was 4-for-4 from the line and added a rebound putback inside the final 45 seconds.
At the break, the Lady Raiders led 32-22.
Union Pines opened the second half on an 8-2 run to cut its deficit to as few as four points. Lindsey had the two points for Richmond during that span.
With 4:58 to go in the third, Lindsey knocked down a triple, her fourth of six in the win, from the left wing. That started a 7-0 run that featured a putback by Jackson and a pair of Gilchrist free throws to regain a 41-30 lead.
Two buckets by Union Pines (18-1, 7-1 SAC) in the final couple of minutes was responded to by another Lindsey three-pointer. At the end of three complete, Richmond’s lead was still 10 points, 44-34.
Icing the game with a 9-0 scoring stretch through the first 3:17 of the final stanza, Richmond split its points between Lindsey and Gilchrist. Lindsey netted her final triple and added two free throws, while Gilchrist connected on the front end of a trip to the line and drained a three-ball.
Richmond kept up its offensive output, gaining a lead by as many 21 points. In the closing four minutes, with Union Pines forced to foul, Gilchrist had a free throw and Lindsey recorded Richmond’s remaining five points.
The Lady Raiders (14-5, 8-1 SAC) return home Friday for another conference game against Lee County High School (8-8, 3-4 SAC). Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
