After any extended layoff for a basketball team, rust upon their return is always a concern.

Coaches of the Richmond Ninth Grade Academy Raider Green girls basketball team tried to mitigate that somewhat with an aggressive practice schedule over the winter break.

How did that pan out?

Not too bad at all.

Raider Green ran away and hid f rom Scotland Wednesday afternoon, getting the 2011 portion of the 2010-11 season off on the right track with a 55-17 win over the Lady Scots at the Richmond Ninth Grade Academy Gymnasium.

Raider Green set the tone for the contest right from the opening tip, outscoring Scotland 15-2 in the opening stanza.

Scotland began to find a bit of offensive traction in the second quarter, putting 11 points on the board. But Raider Green kept the Lady Scots at bay, and still held a commanding 28-11 lead at halftime.

Raider Green outscored Scotland 14-6 in the third quarter, and kept the Lady Scots off the scoreboard entirely in the final period, posting eight more points for the final tally.

For Raider Green coach Phillip Waddell, it was a good way for Raider Green to rebound from a tough loss to Raider Gold right before the break.

“Our defense was great tonight,” Waddell said.

Indeed, stifling ball pressure led to a number of Scotland turnovers, many of which were converted into easy points on the offensive end.

Just the way coaches like it.

Kivana Keane led all scorers with 12 points for Raider Green. Shaquail Wall added eight.

Raider Green now has another somewhat long layoff, as next week is exam week at the Richmond Ninth Grade Academy. The team doesn’t play again until Tuesday, Jan. 18 at Hoke. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

Raider Green boys 44, Scotland 39

Later, the Green boys struggled somewhat on offense, but defense carried the day and led to a win over the Scots.

Raider Green got out to a 12-4 first-quarter lead but hit a bit of a dry spell int he second quarter.

n the second half, Raider Green employed its 1-3-1 halfcourt trap defensive scheme to create turnovers — some of which led to points.

But Raider Green coach Jay Jones said his team is missing too many short-range shots — bunnies and layups.

“It’s frustrating as a coach, because those are the shots we see them make in practice,” Jones said.

Jordan McDonald led Raider Green with 11 points. Jhari Robinson added eight and C.J. Reader chipped in with six.

The Raider Green boys are also idle until Tuesday, Jan. 18, when they travel to Hoke to face the Fighting Bucks. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.

Contact sports editor David Vantress at 997-3111, ext. 14 or by email at dvantress@yourdailyjournal.com.