Facing St. Pauls High School on the Lady Bulldogs’ home court, the Lady Raiders came up short by a bucket after erasing a nine point fourth-quarter deficit.
Outscored 10-8 in overtime, the Lady Raiders lost 61-59.
Richmond was without starting point guard and leading scorer Jasiah Gilchrist, who missed her second straight game due to illness.
Four players scored double digits for the Lady Raiders. Junior Kaniah Little netted 15 points, including 13 combined points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Freshman Amiah Streeter finished with 13 points and senior J’Nasia Neal and junior Madisen Jackson each had 10 points. Neal’s biggest bucket of the game was the equalizer in the final seconds of regulation.
Rounding out the team’s scoring were sophomore Amonie McNeil (8 points) and senior Olivia Brown (3 points).
Head coach Taneika Reader said not having Gilchrist slowed the team’s momentum, but added she was proud of the way the Lady Raiders made adjustments and closed the gap in regulation to force overtime.
She added that missed free throws hurt the team down the stretch. Richmond made 13-of-30 attempts from the charity stripe in the game.
The first five minutes of the opening quarter teetered in Richmond’s favor, which took a 9-7 lead. Jackson had all seven of her points in the quarter during that span on a putback, a triple from the left wing and a jumper.
Little’s shot in the paint helped keep the early lead. But the Lady Bulldogs closed the final 3:14 on a 14-2 run to take a 10-point advantage.
Neal had the only points for Richmond in the last few minutes, a shot from close range with 48 seconds left. At the end of one, Richmond trailed 21-11.
Starting the second quarter with a little more energy, the Lady Raiders used a 9-2 scoring run to cut its deficit to as little as three points 23-20.
Streeter had the first bucket in the paint and that was followed by transition baskets by Brown, Jackson and McNeil. A free throw by Jackson with 3:41 left in the half made it a one-possession game.
A basket by St. Pauls ended a nearly three-minute scoring drought and the Lady Bulldogs opened their lead to 30-22 thanks to a 7-2 run in the final 2:59 of the half. McNeil and Neal each made one shot from the line for Richmond’s two points.
Both teams struggled to score in the third quarter, including Richmond from the free throw line. The Lady Raiders missed 10 attempts in the quarter, which Reader said could have swayed the final score in Richmond’s direction.
Four points from the Lady Bulldogs (4-3) made it 34-22, the first of two 12-point deficits in the quarter for Richmond. A free throw from Brown and a jumper from Streeter cut it to a nine-point hole.
Free throws from McNeil and Neal (3) in four separate trips to the line couldn’t erase a double-digit lead for St. Pauls.
Down 12 points inside of 10 seconds left in the third, putbacks by Streeter and Neal made it an eight-point game heading to the fourth, 41-33.
Making it interesting in the final eight minutes, Richmond used a 10-2 run to knot the score at 43 points. That set in motion some late game theatrics that saw the game won at the line.
Little started the comeback run with two free throws, followed by a Streeter transition bucket. Knocking down a triple from the top was Little to extend the run, which was added to a McNeil basket in transition.
Going to the line with 4:32 to go, Little made the first of two free throws to tie the game at 43-43.
St. Pauls scored eight of the next 10 points. Little had a shot under the rim with 1:07 to play. Neal tied the game 51-51 inside the final three seconds on a third chance opportunity when she grabbed a board and powered her way to the glass.
Streeter and Little each had a bucket and a free throw in the extra four-minute period. McNeil added two points. An old-fashioned three-point play by Little gave Richmond a 58-55 lead inside of the closing 90 seconds.
St. Pauls secured the win with a 6-1 run, including four shots at the line. Little had a look from beyond the arc at the buzzer but it was no good.
Falling to the consolation bracket, the Lady Raiders (4-3) will play Purnell Swett High School (6-2) Thursday at St. Pauls. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
