LUMBERTON, N.C. – Two nights after the No. 6 Lady Raiders pulled off a convincing 58-47 road upset against No. 3 Jack Britt High School, their Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament Cinderella story came to an end at the hands of No. 2 Lumberton High School Wednesday night.
Suffering its worst loss of the season, Richmond (6-15, 4-12 SAC) fell to the Lady Pirates (22-4, 12-3 SAC) 75-36 in the semifinal matchup, as Lumberton completed the three-game season sweep of the Lady Raiders.
A season that can be summed up as a “developing” year, according to head coach Rosalind McDonald, is officially in the books with Richmond’s second-round exit. But it’s a season that McDonald can walk away from with pride.
“I’m proud of our girls for making it to the second round of the (SAC) tournament,” she said following the game. “I don’t think many people thought we’d get there.
“I think the girls took what was given to them tonight,” McDonald continued, noting several positives from Wednesday’s game. “They played their hearts out and did not give up even when you look at the scoreboard – many teams would have given up, but (we) fought hard until the very end.”
In a game that was high-intensity and physical from start to finish despite the eventual 39-point gap on the scoreboard, the Lady Raiders struggled from the start to establish positioning inside the paint and weren’t able to hit open shots.
Another area that Richmond struggled with was foul trouble, as it sent the Lady Pirates to the line for 29 free throw attempts thanks to 16 team fouls and two technical fouls in the fourth quarter. Lumberton took advantage by draining 19 from the charity stripe (66 percent), with junior forward Madison Canady and senior guard London Thompson combining for 17 made free throws.
An early three-point lead by the Lady Raiders in the opening two minutes was wiped away when Lumberton’s Rachel O’Neill hit the first of her game-high five three-pointers, three of which came in the first quarter. This would be only the third lead change of the game, but the last, as Lumberton would maintain the lead for nearly 30 of the game’s 32 total minutes.
Richmond’s best quarter of the night was the opening frame, as it netted 11 points. Senior forward Lexyonna Ingram, who played her final game in the green and gold, hit a mid-range jumper and two free throws to lead all Lady Raiders with four points in the first eight minutes.
Sophomore guard Keionna Love provided one of the more exciting plays all night for Richmond, when she drained a deep contested three-pointer as the buzzer sounded at the end of the first quarter. Love’s triple cut the deficit to 17-11.
However, the Lady Pirates opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run that ultimately led to momentum remaining on their side. An Ingram putback under the rim at the 4:11 mark stopped the bleeding, and Love followed it up with another three-pointer to make the score 26-16.
The Lady Raiders only managed to score nine points in the second quarter, as turnovers and missed opportunities plagued their chance to get back in the game. By half’s end, Richmond trailed by 12 points, 32-20.
The second half was when Lumberton distanced itself, as its relentless shooting attack outscored the Lady Raiders 43-16.
In a 23-point quarter for the Lady Pirates, O’Neill tacked on her final two triples in the first couple of minutes of the third quarter, and fellow teammate Alexandria Simpson had her best quarter of the night as she hit four field goals and a free throw. Canady also had a big quarter in the post, netting two buckets and adding on three free throws.
Richmond stayed competitive early in the third, as sophomore point guard Allexis Swiney hit a series of layups to keep the deficit manageable. However, Swiney’s basket at the 3:41 mark would be the last Lady Raiders’ basket for 3:57 stretching into the fourth quarter, as Richmond’s offense went flat and Lumberton tacked on 15 points in that span. Entering the final stanza, Lumberton led by 25 points, 55-30.
The fourth quarter didn’t fare much better for the Lady Raiders, as Lumberton went on another big run, this time a 17-2 rush that gave the home team its largest lead of the night at 40 points, 73-33. A running clock for the game’s final two minutes sped up the Lady Pirates’ victory.
Love was Richmond’s most impressive scorer on the night, as her two first-half three-pointers helped her net a team-high 11 points. Ingram finished the night with seven points, while Swiney had six.
The Lady Pirates, whose roster only consists of nine players, had four in double digits. Simpson had a game-high 18 points, with Canady not far off her mark with 17 points. O’Neill’s five triples gave her 15 points on the night, while Thompson had her second consecutive triple-double performance with 13 points, 11 assists and 10 steals.
Even though Richmond’s season is a wrap for this year, McDonald remained positive after her team showed life late in the season. Heading into next season, the coach anticipates a core group of players to return with more experience under their belts and more potential to rack up wins and do damage in the SAC.
“We were so young (this season),” McDonald said. “But to get them all on this team, and to get their confidence up, and get them to understand what it’s like to play at the varsity level, that just takes time.
“I think next year when they come out, any team that they go up against is going to really have a run for their money,” she added.
Lumberton will head to No. 1 Pinecrest High School for the SAC championship game Friday. The Lady Pirates have lost both games against the Lady Patriots this season. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Southern Pines.
