ROCKINGHAM — It took four minutes of overtime to earn, but the Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball team notched its first win of the new season Friday.
Shaking off some rust from a nearly two-week hiatus since they opened the season Nov. 22, the Lady Raiders outlasted Westover High School.
Thanks to a 9-0 run to start overtime, and a 13-6 overall run, Richmond defeated the Lady Wolverines 55-48.
Senior Olivia Brown had just two points in the win, but her bucket with 1:50 to go in the extra period made it 49-42 and proved to be the game-winning basket.
A total of seven players scored for Richmond, including double-digit performances from senior Jasiah Gilchrist (20 points) and junior Madisen Jackson (15 points).
Senior J’Nasia Neal and junior Kaniah Little each netted five points, junior Armoni Walden and freshman Amiah Streeter both had four points and Brown had two points.
Despite trailing by a few possessions for most of the first half, a strong close to the second quarter gave the Lady Raiders the lead at halftime.
Westover opened the game on a 6-1 run before Jackson hit a mid-range jumper to cut the deficit in half. The first point for Richmond was scored by Gilchrist at the line.
With 2:52 to go in the first, Jackson started a six-point run for Richmond when she completed an old-fashioned three-point play. That was followed by the first of two first-half three-pointers from Gilchrist, a shot from the left wing that made it 9-8.
A free throw by the Lady Wolverines (3-1) knotted the score 9-9 at the end of the first.
Even with an early triple from Gilchrist in the second, Richmond found itself down five points a couple of times before the half. A putback by Jackson on an offensive board made it a 17-14 deficit with 4:41 to go.
Down 19-14 after the ensuing Westover trip down the floor, the Lady Raiders locked in and closed the final 3:26 on an 11-0 run to go ahead 25-19 at the break.
Showing off her range, Jackson started the scoring barrage with a three-ball from the left side following an inbound pass. A couple possessions later, Gilchrist swiped the ball near midcourt and turned the steal into two easy transition points to tie the game 19-19.
Solo free throws from Jackson and Gilchrist accounted for the next two points after both were fouled in the paint. Adding to the lead was Walden, who scored two field goals from close range in the closing 35 seconds to make it a six-point advantage at the buzzer.
Out of the break, Richmond’s offense lapsed and the Lady Wolverines retook the lead thanks to a 17-6 run. Richmond’s only points in the quarter came from Gilchrist and Little.
A transition bucket by Gilchrist early in the quarter was followed by a 5:07 scoring drought for the Lady Raiders, but a free throw by Gilchrist ended it. Little joined the scoring with a triple from the right corner with 10 seconds left in the third, making it a 36-31 deficit.
The game of runs continued in the fourth as Richmond looked to have the win in the bag with an 11-4 scoring stretch to take a 42-40 lead. Contributing to that run was a spinning basket by Little, a triple from the left corner by Neal and a baseline drive from Streeter.
Gilchrist gave Richmond the lead when she went coast to coast for a layup after Neal blocked a shot. Gilchrist added a drive that made it 42-40 with 1:52 to play.
The Lady Raiders successfully ran out the clock until two free throws by Jaylinda Deprina with 2.5 seconds knotted the score and forced overtime.
In the four-minute overtime period, the first nine points were scored by the Lady Raiders to give them a 51-42 lead.
Banking in her third and final three-pointer of the game was Gilchrist to start overtime. Jackson followed with a putback on an offensive board and Brown mirrored that basket 50 seconds later.
A baseline drive from Streeter found the bottom of the cylinder on an assist from Gilchrist to grow the lead to 51-42 with 1:16 to play.
Adding an insurance field goal was Neal from close range and Jackson knocked down a pair of free throws with 3.9 seconds to go to ice the win.
The Lady Raiders (1-1) will begin their two-game non-conference series with Scotland High School (0-2) next week on Tuesday. The road game is slated for 6 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish photos of Friday’s home opener later this weekend.
Sports editor’s note: The Richmond junior varsity girls’ basketball team didn’t play Friday.
