ROCKINGHAM — Friday’s senior night game for the Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball game didn’t end favorably for its three senior players.
Hosting Pinecrest High School and trying to even its regular season series, the Lady Raiders lost the Mid-South Conference game 60-34.
Friday’s game recognized Richmond’s seniors this year — Olivia Brown, Jasiah Gilchrist and J’Nasia Neal — along with senior manager Zoie Hill.
Similar to the teams’ first meeting Jan. 29, Richmond struggled out of the gate and never was able to recover. The Lady Raiders trailed by as many as nine points in the first quarter and double digits from the 5:50 mark of the second quarter on.
Taking advantage of takeaways, the Lady Patriots drove through Richmond’s defense and used supplemental three-point shooting to complete the season sweep.
Gilchrist led Richmond with 15 points, scoring eight points early and adding seven points in the second half. Richmond’s next leading scorer was junior Madisen Jackson with eight points, all of which were scored in the second half.
Neal had four points, Brown had two points and so did sophomore Erin Drumwright. Junior Iyana Little finished with a bucket and freshman Emani Ingram had a free throw.
Head coach Taneika Reader compared Friday’s loss to the first meeting, noting Richmond “didn’t have a strong start,” which led to playing from behind. She added that the Lady Raiders “didn’t play with our usual up-tempo energy.”
Pinecrest opened the game on a 9-0 run, scoring seven of those points from the free throw line. The Lady Raiders got on the board with 2:53 left in the quarter when Drumwright made a hook shot along the baseline.
Richmond closed the final 1:49 on an 8-7 run. Gilchrist had all of those points, starting with a free throw and two transition baskets.
At the buzzer, Gilchrist threw up a halfcourt shot in front of the scorer’s table and rattled it in to make it a 17-10 deficit.
What momentum that shot created didn’t last long for the Lady Raiders, who were outscored 19-3 in the second quarter. Richmond’s three points all came from the line — two free throws by Brown and one by Ingram.
At the half, the Lady Raiders trailed 36-13.
Richmond’s best quarter of the game was the third stanza, which saw the Lady Raiders outscore Pinecrest 17-12. Gilchrist scored all of her five points in the third as part of a 5-0 start to the quarter, netting a field goal and a three-pointer.
A free throw from Neal, a bucket underneath from Jackson and two Little free throws pulled Richmond’s deficit to 40-24 with 3:31 to go in the third.
In the last two minutes, Jackson made two free throws and a transition basket. Neal also added a bucket when she made a steal on an inbound pass.
Starting the fourth quarter down 48-30, Richmond’s third-quarter buzz dissipated as Pinecrest went on a 12-4 run to seal the deal. Jackson made a jumper with 6:12 to play and a steal and a bucket by Gilchrist near the 2:00 mark recorded the team’s final points.
The Lady Raiders (10-10, 4-4 MSC) begin the final week of the regular season with a make-up game Monday at home against Jack Britt High School (7-13, 2-5 MSC). Action is slated to start at 6 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Friday’s senior night and game photos later this weekend.
