LAURINBURG — The first of two Scotland-Richmond rivalry basketball games this season is slated for Friday night at Scotland High.
The varsity girls will play at 6 p.m., followed by the boys at approximately 7:30.
Scotland boys look to rebound
The Fighting Scots will have a chance to put a rough patch behind them on Friday.
Scotland (5-7, 2-2 SAC) has dropped two straight games, including a lopsided 66-27 to Pinecrest last week. A low shooting percentage is partially to blame for Scotland’s recent struggles. They’ll need to fix that in order to compete with the Raiders (11-4, 5-1 SAC), who are currently tied with Pinecrest at the top of the Sandhills Athletic Conference.
The Raiders have a relatively small eight-man roster, but that group is packed with experience and talent. Forwards Nygie Stroman and Jarvis Tillman are the anchors of a team that is 4-0 on the road and 3-2 in their last five games.
Richmond began the season by rattling off eight wins in a row. That run ended with a 65-47 loss to Hunter Huss in the semifinals of the Ashbrook Holiday Tournament.
Richmond’s only blemish in conference play is a 68-38 loss to Lumberton that happened last Friday. The Raiders had their lowest scoring night of the season in their most recent game, a 32-23 win over Seventy-First on Tuesday.
Lady Scots set to battle Raiders
The Lady Scots (5-6, 2-2 SAC) have won three of their past five games. They’ll look to defend their home court against the Lady Raiders (10-5, 2-4 SAC).
The Lady Raiders are led offensively by Keionna Love, Jayla McDougald and Jakerra Covington. Love averages 12 points per game, McDougald averages nine points and Covington averages eight points.
Like Richmond’s boys team, the Lady Raiders had a strong start to the season, winning four of their first five games. Their two conference wins this season happened consecutively — Richmond defeated Hoke 64-42 on Jan. 7, and the Lady Raiders beat Lumberton 54-21 four days later.
The Lady Scots have a winning record on their home court (3-2). Senior center Asjah Swindell is averaging 12 points and seven rebounds per game. Kadence Sheppard is posting eight points and seven rebounds per contest.
