ROCKINGHAM — Friday marked a significant achievement for the Richmond Senior girls basketball team, hosting Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Lumberton.
The Lady Raiders ended a six-year losing streak to the Lady Pirates with a dominating 54-21 victory that marked a second straight conference win.
According to coach Teddy Moseley, the pivotal stretch came in the third quarter, a period his leaders told the rest of the team they needed to win.
“They stepped up and said, ‘We’re going to win the third quarter,” said Moseley. “There whole motto was, ‘all gas, no brakes.’”
Richmond (10-4, 2-3 SAC) guard Keionna Love dropped a game-high 19 points, eight of which came in the deciding period.
She knocked down a 3-pointer as part of an 8-0 run to start the frame, then later added five points on back-to-back possessions that extended the margin to 40-14 with just under two minutes left.
“The third quarter was about maintaining what we had and also about eliminating our opponent out the game completely,” said Love.
Backcourt mate Jayla McDouglad put in four of her nine points during the ‘elimination’ period and Mosely says his decision to move her off the ball has paid off as of late.
“I think they kind of feed off each other. Sliding Jayla over to the 2 (shooting guard) kind of maximizes her because she’s a good spot-up shooter,” said Moseley.
Meanwhile, Love’s new role as the team’s primary ball-handler has given her more confidence and she feels it showcases her unique skillsets.
“I’m better at manuevering to the goal, than I started out and I’m just utilizing the other aspects of my game,” said Love.
Lumberton (8-6, 1-3 SAC) guard August Smith accounted for the team’s only basket in the third, connecting on a 3-pointer in the late stages of the frame. Smith ended with a team-high eight points.
The Lady Raiders used a 9-4 advantage in the fourth, with four points coming from Love at the foul line, to seal their second straight conference win.
Moseley also credited the group’s focus on boxing out and rebounding during the week for the success against the Lady Pirates.
Jakerra Covington finished with a near double-double, scoring nine points and bring down a team-high 12 rebounds.
The Lady Raiders return to conference play Tuesday in a home matchup with Seventy-First.
“After we got a taste of losing, I don’t think we want that again,” said Love.
Raiders struggle offensively in loss to Lumberton
ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior boys basketball team couldn’t find the bottom of the basket early, converting just one field goal in the first period en route to a 68-38 loss at home to Lumberton on Friday.
Richmond (10-3, 4-1 SAC) coach Donald Pettigrew felt helpless after the contest, watching his group miss close opportunities and free throws during the season-low point total.
“Man, it was tough watching that,” said Pettigrew. “The guys kept playing, but we just couldn’t knock down shots.”
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm in the early going with the Pirates hang on to a 3-0 advantage until Richmond’s Nygie Stroman converted an open dunk halfway through the period.
Stroman’s basket would be the team’s only field goal as the visitors suffocated the Raiders with ball pressure and converted turnovers into easy transition opportunities.
“We hit them in the mouth early and one thing we’ve been struggling with is letting teams back in,” said Lumberton coach Bryant Edwards. “The past two days in practice, that’s what we’ve been pushing and they showed off tonight.”
Lumberton guard Jordan McNeill was the main beneficiary of the fastbreak runouts, scoring 17 of his game-high 26 points in the first half and setting up his teammates for similar looks.
McNeill found backcourt mate Jadarion Chatman in transition with just over two minutes left in the first and Chatman turned the pass into a layup, plus the foul, that made it 10-2.
“He’s evolved his game to where people don’t know how to really guard him right now,” Edwards said of McNeill.
The Pirates opened up the second period with a 7-0 run, capped by McNeill’s layup that made it 21-2. Later in the frame, he converted on an up-and-under layup that stretched the margin to 29-7 with just over three minutes left until the half.
After trailing 39-9 at the half, Raiders forward Nygie Stroman quickly put in five of his team-high nine points to open the third quarter.
But the Pirates had an answer for every Raiders’ basket as McNeill added another five points to his total during the frame while reserve Matt Locklear chipped in with five of his 10 points.
The Pirates’ lead swelled to as much as 32 points before cruising to the victory.
“That’s one thing we’ve been trying to build on is putting teams away,” said Edwards.
Charlie Miller added nine points on a trio of 3-pointers in the win. Chatman ended with seven points, while Michael Todd and Jamerl Brockington chipped in with six points apiece.
Lumberton (12-2, 3-1) is off until next Friday when it travels to rival Purnell Swett.
The Raiders have a short turnaround and hit the home floor again on Saturday to host non-conference opponent South Mecklenburg.
“There’s 14 games in the conference schedule and we still got a long way to go,” said Pettigrew. “If we finish out strong, I think we’ll be fine.”
