December 7, 2024
While the theatrics from Tuesday’s buzzer-beater victory over Brunswick were not needed against Hilton Head Island, the Lady Wildcats did struggle early on in the contest before pulling away for the 52-32 win.
Senior Jada Brown led the scoring output for the Lady Wildcats with 13. Junior Cullen McCormick finished with 11. Fellow junior and younger sister of Jada, Emari Brown, finished with 10. Junior Faith Evans had 6 points and senior Mmekom Inyang, senior Ariyana Canady and sophomore Kimora Ragland each had 4.
“They did a better job of making the right reads on passes tonight,” head girls’ basketball coach Sarah Jones said. “Turnovers have sort of been our Achilles heel thus far; giving opponents extra opportunities to remain in games. We have worked on being good passers of the ball for each other and being sure we find good options to pass to.”
The Lady Wildcats would again win the opening tip, but were unable to capitalize with any points. Jada Brown opened up the scoring later in the first, and would score 5 total points in the period alone, leading Richmond Hill to a 12-11 lead at the buzzer.
The Lady ‘Cats settled down in the second period and played more of their brand of basketball, with several good passes with the right reads. They stepped up on the defensive side and went on a 14-7 run to close out the half, up 26-18.
After the break, the Lady ‘Cats continued to press forward on both sides of the ball, leading the third period 12-7, and closing it out, 38-25. Emari Brown led the period in scoring with 4 points, but she had several key blocks on defense and a few steals to go along with it.
“She can be a spark plug for us,” Jones said. “She makes plays on both sides of the floor. She is long and lanky. Gets to the basket well. Disrupts things on the defensive side.”
The fourth was again dominated by Richmond Hill, as they led the period 14-7. Ragland led the period on scoring with 4 points and the depth was able to be shown for Richmond Hill, as many of the younger players were able to enter and eventually close out the game.
“They are continuing to get better,” Jones said. “We have one that is brand new to the program. They are young, with most of them being sophomores. They have a ton of time to learn and grow. We want to take every opportunity we can to get everyone in for reps.”