The Statesboro Lady Blue Devils came into Richmond Hill High School looking to win two straight against the Lady Wildcats, and they did just that by a score of 45-28. 

“They are a great team,” head coach Sarah Jones said. “The last time they beat us on ball screens pretty badly. We tried to defend them in a different way and we did great with it. On offense, the shots just were not falling.”

The first period opened with both teams making a free throw each, and the score remained 1-1 for much of the period. MaKiyah Matthews would eventually break the tie with a 3-pointer, but Statesboro would go on a quick 7-0 run in just two minutes, and take the 11-5 lead into the second. Matthews had 4 and Emari Brown had 1 in the first.

The second period would have a closer scoring output, as Statesboro led it 8-7, but the Lady Wildcats and their struggles continued. “We turned the ball over way too much,” Jones said. “We also took several shots that were not very good shot selections and that cost us.” Statesboro’s lead would be 19-12 at the break. Mmekom Inyang had 4 points, Lexanna Oge added 2 and Jada Brown had 1 in the second. 

In the opening minutes of the third, Statesboro went on a quick 4-0 run, and each team would have their best scoring output in a period, for the game. The Lady Blue Devils had a 16-12 advantage in the third, to extend their lead to 35-24. Inyang had 5 in the period, all on free throws, Matthews added 4, E. Brown had 2 and J. Brown had 1.

The fourth period was all Statesboro, as they opened with four points in less than one minute, and only surrendered four points total to the Lady Wildcats, with Ariyana Canady and Cullen McCormick each getting the first points of the night with 2 apiece. 

“We have to continue working in practice,” Jones said. “We have to execute on offense better. We have to make better decisions and go back to work on us these next few days. We have to go to Glynn next. They played us close here last time and it is always a tough environment when we go there. They are a tough and scrappy team, so we have to bring our best offensively and defensively.”

The Richmond Hill Lady Wildcats (5-3) will travel to Glynn Academy (2-5) on Tuesday, December 12 to take on the Lady Terrors. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.