Richmond Senior’s LaShay Brown pulls in an offensive rebound during the second half of the Lady Raiders’ 74-62 victory over Douglas Byrd Monday night at Richmond. Brown led the Lady Raiders with 21 points.
The Lady Raiders’ opponent, Douglas Byrd, was over an hour late in arriving in Rockingham, due to a motor vehicle accident in the Fayetteville area.
The extended warmup period led to a bit of a sluggish start for the Lady Raiders. But they turned up the intensity in the second quarter and never looked back en route to a 74-62 win over Douglas Byrd.
With the win, Richmond Senior improved to a perfect 3-0 on the season.
Richmond interim coach Nellie Harrington expected a slow start after the long layoff, followed by the delay in starting Monday night’s game.
The Raiders scored just 12 points in the first quarter, leading 12-7 at the first stop.
The Lady Raiders scored 62 points over the next 24 minutes.
Harrington was pleased to see her girls shake off the rust and turn up the intensity on offense. But she said her team needs to work on its rebounding.
“We didn’t get all the rebounds I would have wanted in the first half,” Harrington said. “We played much better in the second half, though.”
The Lady Raiders held Douglas Byrd at bay throughout the second quarer, and a Demi Watkins trifecta at the buzzer sent Richmond into the locker room with a 35-27 halftime advantage.
Douglas Byrd did not go quietly, however, closing to within five points at 49-44 on a 3-pointer with less than two minutes left in the third. The Lady Raiders, howeverm weathered the Douglas Byrd run and closed the third period with a 9-2 run to take a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter, 58-46.
The Lady Raiders led by as many as 18 points in the final eight minutes. NIne second-half steals helped set up a number of easy fast-break buckets.
The Lady Raiders were led by LaShay Brown with 21 points. I’teionna McLaughlin and Shaquitta Covington had 14 apiece and Demi Watkins added 10.
“It’s nice to see us get balanced scoring, as well as scoring off the bench,” Harrington said.
Three games into the young season, Harrington is pleased with her team’s progress. “We’re trying to cut down on our mistakes each time out,” Harrington said.
Richmond returns to action tonight, when the Lady Raiders are scheduled to host Union Pines at 6 p.m. After that, the Lady Raiders will be idle until next Tuesday night, when South Robeson visits Richmond.
n Contact sports editor David Vantress at 997-3111, ext. 14, or via email at dvantress@yourdailyjournal.com.
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