ROCKINGHAM — Kicking off its season Tuesday, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ junior varsity basketball team picked up a win.
Second-year head coach Demi Watkins and the Lady Raiders hosted Purnell Swett High School and handed the Lady Rams a 51-32 loss.
Richmond overcame a slow start, which featured a first-quarter deficit, and used a high-scoring second and fourth stanza to earn the victory.
Sophomore Nyla Stroman had a strong performance for the Lady Raiders, netting a game-high 21 points. She scored eight points in both the second and fourth quarters.
“We started off slow tonight,” Watkins said. “We haven’t had a lot of the team together as a whole due to COVID and the holidays. But Nyla found her groove with a few breakaway layups.
“We made a few adjustments on defense and turned our intensity up,” she added. “This was truly a team win tonight.”
The Lady Raiders only scored six points in the first quarter, a bucket each from Stroman, Deveah Robinson and Jamia Crowder. Purnell Swett took a 7-6 lead into the second.
Richmond responded with 15 points in the next eight minutes, outscoring the Lady Rams 15-5 in the process. Adding to Stroman’s eight points were two points each from Crowder and Keyoni Nichols.
Jasmen Williams drained a triple, one of her team-high two in the game. Rebounding was a big factor in the second, helping the Lady Raiders distance themselves. Entering the locker room, Richmond held a 22-12 advantage.
Fourteen more points in the third quarter kept Richmond ahead, seeing five players score points. Zy’Neveah Goins, who finished the game with 10 points, netted her first four in the third.
Nichols and Robinson added a field goal and Stroman hit a bucket and a free throw to make it a 35-22 lead.
Purnell Swett would make a run at the lead to open the fourth, starting on a 7-2 spurt. But Stroman picked up the pace and finished with her final eight points, with help from Goins, who chipped in three field goals.
Nichols tallied the final two of her six points, and was a player who Watkins said also had a great game on defense.
“Keyoni was a great asset on defense, along with Jamia,” Watkins said. “I am proud of the way we fought through the masks and the new environment of the game.
“We have a lot to work on but we’re starting on a good foundation,” she closed. “It was a good way to start this unfamiliar season.”
The Lady Raiders (1-0) will host Pinecrest High School on Friday, beginning at 5 p.m.
