ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior High School girls’ basketball program hosted a pre-season jamboree Tuesday.
Joining the Lady Raiders and head coach Taneika Reader in the Veterans Day scrimmage session were Anson, Hoke County, Scotland and Union Pines high schools.
Richmond had two teams on the court — the varsity team coached by Reader, as well as the junior varsity team and head coach Tonia Breeden.
While no official scores were kept, the Lady Raiders controlled the tempo of both of their scrimmages against the Lady Vikings and Lady Bearcats. Making his return to Raider Gym was Keith Parsons, a longtime Richmond coach who is now the head coach at Anson.
All scrimmages were two 20-minute halves with a running clock. The JV Lady Raiders faced Hoke County and Scotland and played in the new auxiliary gym.
Against Union Pines, senior point guard Jasiah Gilchrist and senior wing J’Nasia Neal led the team with 21 and 18 points, respectively. Also hitting double digits was freshman forward Amiah Streeter, who netted 11 points.
In the team’s second matchup with Anson, Gilchrist again paced the scoring, this time with 19 points. Streeter was next on the scoresheet with 10 points.
Through two pre-season jamborees, including a trip to Raleigh last weekend, the Lady Raiders have gone 4-1.
While she’s seen a lot of good over the five early scrimmages, Reader is hoping the team will continue to tighten things up ahead of its Nov. 22 season opener, especially as the team moves on from four-year starting point guard Jamyia Lindsey (NC A&T State).
“We’re not where we want to be yet, and we have a lot we want to improve on, especially on the defensive side,” Reader said. “Bringing back four varsity returners from last year has been helpful, but we have a lot of girls who are adjusting to bigger roles.
“We’re a work in progress to where we need to be,” she closed. “I am encouraged by what I’ve seen so far and like the building blocks we have in place.”
Richmond will travel to New Hanover High School on Saturday, Nov. 22, to open its season. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a full season preview in the coming weeks.
