LUMBERTON — The Richmond Senior girls basketball team was on the wrong side of the turnover margin in its second-round game against Lumberton in the Robeson County Shootout.
The Lady Raiders struggled to hold on to the ball under pressure from the Lady Pirates and found themselves trailing 7-0 before coach Rosalind McDonald called for a timeout. Although Richmond was able to score its first basket after the timeout, the turnovers continued and it eventually fell 68-42 on Friday evening.
“The turnovers killed us,” McDonald said. “If we expect to win a game, we’ve got to take care of the ball. And tonight we just did not do that.”
Lumberton refused to give its full-court press a break in the opening quarter, taking advantage of Richmond’s turnover and building a 26-5 lead with 1:29 to go. London Thompson (Lumberton) would score 11 points in a first quarter that ended with the Lady Pirates ahead 32-10.
A free throw from Tasheka Harrington was the first of the eight points Richmond scored in the second half. Veronica Griffin would hit a jumper, Kennedy Alexander made one of two free throws and Zelda McLaughlin scored on a layup and twice from the foul line before the half.
Alexis Swiney, who had a career-high 31 points in the first round, scored her first two points of Friday night’s game with 3:03 to go in the third quarter. The freshman would end the night with three points.
Saleemah Brown scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the second half, while Zariah Williams — who opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer — was able to record seven of her 10 points in the first stanza.
“We really just have to take one game at a time — really, one possession at a time,” McDonald said. “And the girls have to be able to get the job done. Whether it’s playing tough defense or taking care of the ball so we can get some looks at the basket. That’s the bottom line.”
Thompson, reigning co-Conference Player of the Year, led Lumberton with 17 points. Madison Canady and Merlena McClure added 15 and 14 for the Lady Pirates, respectively.
“Lumberton is a great team,” McDonald said. “We just have to step up on the offensive end and defensively. But the main thing was that we’ve got to take care of the ball.”
Richmond (1-4) will play Fairmont in the third-place game on Saturday, Dec. 17. The game will begin at 2 p.m. at Lumberton High School.
Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. at 910-817-2673 and follow the sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.
Richmond Senior’s Taliah Wall tries to get around Lumberton’s London Thompson during Friday night’s second-round matchup.