Lady Raiders Basketball Stomps Purnell Swett 59-39; Earn First Win of Season

ROCKINGHAM - The Richmond Senior High School Lady Raiders basketball team stepped into Sandhills Athletic Conference play Tuesday night for the first time and used defense and timely shooting to get a 59-39 over Purnell Swett High School.

The 20-point victory comes after being defeated by Fairmont High School 55-51 last week on the road in the season opener.

The Lady Raiders (1-1, 1-0 SAC) entered Raider Gym looking for their first win of the season, but got off to a slow start against the Lady Rams (0-3, 0-1 SAC). Richmond only scored 10 points in the first quarter.

The team quickly took care of that by playing a full-court press against the Rams.

Although it's not something the team does often, head coach Rosalind McDonald said they will press when the situation warrants it. That was certainly the case Tuesday night, as the Lady Raiders used that technique to force turnovers and stunt the Lady Rams’ attempt to drive the paint.

By half’s end, the Lady Raiders built their lead to 30-13 heading into the locker room.

Sophomore Hailey Miller in action during Tuesday's 20-point win.

McDonald's team also was able to keep Purnell Swett in foul trouble, as the Rams saw one player foul out and two others end the game with four fouls each. The Lady Raiders were 16-of-33 from the free throw line, and used those extra points to almost double their halftime score.

"Our girls played more aggressively tonight and attacked the basket when they had the opportunity, and this helped with getting Purnell in foul trouble," McDonald said after the game. "We definitely have the ability to push the ball and tonight we did a better job at maintaining possession even when the tempo was up."

For the second game in a row, sophomore point guard Allexis Swinney led all scorers with 17 points on the night while, senior Lexyona Ingram got in double digits as well with 11 points. Junior Taliah Wall, senior Jordyn Horne and sophomore Hailey Miller all chipped in Tuesday night with six points each.

With their first win under their belts, the Lady Raiders will travel to Clayton High School (Johnston County) Wednesday to face the Lady Comets in a non-conference game beginning at 6 p.m.