LAURINBURG — It is tough battling an opponent which had just defeated you by 42 points six days earlier.
But that was what Richmond Senior had to do in its Southeastern Conference semifinal matchup with Scotland Thursday night.
It wasn’t quite the same beating, but the Fighting Scots rolled to a 63-37 victory to advance to tonight’s SEC championship clash. The conference’s regular-season champions will play host to Pinecrest, which upset second-seeded Lumberton, 47-30, in the other semifinal contest.
“I told the team to keep that same approach they had Friday,” Scotland coach David Johnson said. “If the game was on Monday, I would have been a little more concerned. After practicing the last couple of days, they were ready to play someone else.”
Scotland opened the contest on a 14-2 run to build a 14-point advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Fighting Scots were able stretch the lead to 36-13 at halftime, turning the Raiders’ 22 first-half turnovers into instant offense.
“Turnovers are still hurting us,” Richmond coach Victoria DeFrate said. “Most of their points were off of our turnovers. If you take the turnovers away, it might have been a different game.”
Jonisa Monley and Malasia Chisholm each scored 14 points to lead Scotland (20-3). Tykera Johnson added 10. The Fighting Scots got a scare midway through the second quarter when Quintavia Deberry went down after rolling her right ankle. David Johnson said the injury wasn’t serious and expects her to play against Pinecrest.
“She was begging to get back in there tonight,” he said. “I think it was just the initial shock that got to her.”
Richmond was paced by Shaquail Wall’s 18 points. Wall, who was the lone Raider in double figures, connected on four 3-point field goals in the third quarter and scored 12 of the team’s 13 points in the frame.
“Jade (Evans) had some good looks tonight, but she just couldn’t connect,” DeFrate said. “If we could just take care of the ball, things would be so much easier.”
The Raiders, the SEC’s No. 4 seed, will learn their opponent in the opening round of the state 4A playoffs Saturday afternoon when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association releases its brackets.
Scotland will be the top seed out of the conference, Lumberton will be No. 2 and Pinecrest will be the third seed.
Richmond drops softball scrimmage
CAMERON — The Richmond Senior softball team fell to Union Pines 3-0 in its final scrimmage contest of the spring Thursday afternoon.
Hunter Parks recorded the only hit for the Raiders. Summer Jacobs, Cierra Bowden and Parks all pitched in the game.
Richmond will open the regular season 4:30 p.m. Thursday when it travels to Jack Britt. The team’s first home contest is slated for noon March 2 against Eastern Randolph.
Whiteville edges Richmond in 8
WHITEVILLE — The Richmond Senior and Whiteville baseball coaching staffs agreed to play one more inning despite the Raiders leading 5-4 at the end of seven.
The Wolfpack scored three times in the extra frame to pull out an 7-5 win in a scrimmage contest Thursday afternoon.
Richmond coach Ricky Young said he didn’t keep track of offensive statistics in the game, but doesn’t believe any Raiders had more than one hit. Nic Bullard, Mikey Steele, Bradley Brown, James Buie, Jacob Sears and Cody Leviner all saw time on the mound.
Richmond will begin its regular season 5 p.m. Wednesday at Terry Sanford.
Raiders split at soccer jamboree
LAURINBURG — The Richmond Senior soccer team fell to Scotland before defeating Marlboro County (S.C) in the nightcap at Wednesday’s Scotland soccer jamboree.
The Fighting Scots blanked the Raiders 1-0 in the opening 40-minute scrimmage. Scotland also cruised to a 4-0 victory over Marlboro County. The Raiders pulled out a 5-0 shutout win over the Bulldogs in the final contest of the night.
Richmond will play host to Forest Hills 6 p.m. Thursday in the season opener for both schools.
— Sports editor Shawn Stinson can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 14, or by email at sstinson@civitasmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @scgolfer.
Post a Comment
