The Richmond Hill High School Lady Wildcats basketball team is just three weeks away from their first game of the 2025-2026 basketball season. With a brand new school opening in August, it won’t be the only thing that has a brand new look as the Lady Wildcats lost three key starters to graduation in May.
Mmekom Inyang, the two-time Region 1-6A Defensive Player of the Year graduated and traded in her basketball shoes for track spikes, as she signed to participate in Track and Field at Division One Howard University.
Jada Brown, who made the All-Region squad for Region 1-6A, took her talents to Newbery College, a Division Two program in South Carolina. Brown looks to get playing time this year as a freshman. Ariyana Canady also graduated in May and played significant time in the program over the last few seasons.
While the names and faces may have changed, the mission remains the same for the Lady Wildcats, which is to make a deep playoff run and a potential state championship title.
Returning for the Lady Wildcats are the other two starters from last year, in seniors Cullen McCormick and Emari Brown. Both athletes have received recognition for their efforts over the last two seasons, with both of them receiving college offers, as well as McCormick receiving multiple preseason honors.
“I think there are many keys to getting back on top and being able to do so in an away environment,” McCormick said. “Watching film is a key part of preparation for any game for us. We need to control the ball and rebound. We were pretty evenly matched against Glynn last year but we allowed them to slightly out rebound us in the loss. The new players have to be ready and know the plays and we have to execute. The main thing in any game is that we have to focus on our game and rely on our training and preparation.”
The Lady Wildcats will also return a player that was a part of the program during her sophomore season in 2023-2024, in senior Zion Bernard, as well as junior Kimora Ragland, who has seen her role increase in each of the last two seasons.
The Lady Wildcats will open their season on the road, as they will face the Glynn Academy Lady Terrors, out of nearby Brunswick. This is the first of two games that the Lady Wildcats will play Glynn Academy, with their second game being at home on December 9 against the Lady Terrors.
In the 2024-2025 season, the teams split wins between each other, with both teams winning at home. The Lady Wildcats won the first meeting 37-29 at their old gym and the Lady Terrors won 44-36 at their place in the second meeting of the year.
Richmond Hill is looking to bounce back from that loss last year and hopes to get both wins this year against their non-region opponent in Glynn Academy.
The game will be held on November 18 at Glynn Academy in Brunswick. Tip off for the game will be at 6pm.