ROCKINGHAM — It was a case of good news and bad news for the Richmond Senior girls basketball team.
The good news is at the halfway point in the Southeastern Conference season, the Raiders are in fourth place, which would qualify them for an automatic berth in the 4A state playoffs.
The bad news was Richmond was handed its third consecutive loss with a 79-37 thumping by Scotland Tuesday night at Raider Gym.
For the second straight night, the Raiders struggled on the offensive end, scoring in double figures in just one quarter — the fourth. Against Pinecrest, Richmond went more than 22 minutes without a field goal in a 22-point loss.
Despite falling to 4-12 overall and 2-3 in the SEC after a 42-point loss to its rival, Richmond Senior coach Victoria DeFrate was pleased with the way her team rebounded following its performance against the Patriots 24 hours earlier.
“I thought we showed more effort out there tonight,” DeFrate said. “I was disappointed in our defense, but I thought we showed a little more offensive effort.”
Scotland (12-3, 3-1) used its full-court pressure defense to build a large cushion against its rivals to the west. In the game, the Fighting Scots connected on 21 layups, compared to just two for the Raiders.
Destiny Campbell led the way for Scotland with a game-high 18 points, while Quintavia Deberry and Ariel Ratcliff scored 14 and 13, respectively. Shaquail Wall netted a team-leading 12 points for Richmond.
Despite the loss, there is some more good news on the horizon for the Raiders — two games with teams they have defeated earlier this season. Richmond knocked off Hoke County 54-31 on Jan. 11 and stopped Purnell Swett 65-50 on Jan. 4.
“Our day will come,” DeFrate said. “Those are must-wins for us against Hoke and Purnell Swett. Hoke is a tough place to play. We have to be on top of our game. No way is it a gimmie game at all.”
The Raiders will return to action 6 p.m. Friday when they travel to Raeford to battle the Bucks.
— 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.
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