It took three times, but the Richmond High School girls basketball team finally took on Valley in an East-West Conference contest on Monday.

Mother Nature caused the first two scheduled meetings to be postponed, and the Cavaliers might have wanted a third delay after the Bobcats rolled to a dominating 59-14 victory on the final day of 2012.

Richmond (4-1) went inside early and often as Jamie Plummer, Ciarra Lancaster and Alyssa Pearson controlled the paint, combining for 44 points, led by Plummer’s 20. Plummer, who is 51 points shy of 1,000 career points, led the Richmond defense, which forced a whopping

50 turnovers and held Valley to just four field goals (four of 28, 14 percent).

“It took us some time to figure out that we needed to go inside more while we try to figure out how to shoot from the outside at the same time,” said Richmond coach Molly Bishop, whose Bobcats visit Class C Old Orchard Beach today at 5:30 p.m. “We are trying to make sure everyone is where they need to be every time out.”

Inside dominance

Having not played since Dec. 19 against Seacoast Christian (a 59-13 victory), Richmond shook off a slow start, using a 13-0 run to turn a 2-2 deadlock into a 15-2 lead early in the second quarter.

Valley made just two field goals in the first half, including a trey by Sydney Vincent, and the Bobcats closed the first half on a 12-1 run for a 27-6 halftime lead, with Plummer (11 points), Pearson (eight) and Lancaster (eight) accounting for all of Richmond’s first-half points.

“Getting inside is really important for us, with us trying to move the ball around until we get that opening,” said Lancaster, who followed up her 17-point performance in the Seacoast Christian win with 14 points. “It is easier to get to rebounds when we are able to get the ball inside and just power over them. We have worked hard on rebounding and making our foul shots.”

Richmond continued its onslaught in the third quarter. A 14-2 spurt made for 41-9 advantage, with the Bobcats holding a 47-11 edge through 24 minutes.

“They took playing on New Year’s eve as another day, and they’re ready to play. They hadn’t played a game in nearly two weeks,” said Bishop.

Richmond’s lead continued to grow in the fourth quarter as Bishop went to her bench. Pearson finished with 10 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists, while Kalah Patterson came off the bench to add six points.

The guard play of Noell Acord and Brianna Snedeker was strong throughout for the Bobcats, as Acord dished out four assists and picked up four steals, while Snedeker had four assists and three steals. Plummer blocked six shots and added six steals, while Payton Johnson came off the bench for three steals.

Richmond was 24 of 65 (36 percent) from the floor and made 11 of 19 free throws. The Bobcats also held a 27-23 rebounding edge.

Teagan Lawyerson, Kirsten Mathieu and Vincent each had three points to lead Valley (2-4), which finished four of 12 from the charity stripe. Lawyerson, Kyla White and Jaclyn Beatrice had three steals each, while White pulled down a team-high six rebounds.

Richmond 59, Valley 14

At Richmond
Valley —2453—14
Richmond — 13 14 20 12 — 59
Valley — Teagan Lawyerson 1-1-3,
Meghan Hunnewell 0-0-0, Kirsten Mathieu 1-1-3, Kyla White 0-0-0, Sydney Vincent 1-0-3, Jaclyn Beatrice 0-0-0, Kimberly Bergeron 0-0-0, Dalayne Davis 1-0-
2, Jordan Belanger 0-2-2, Courtney Mills
0-0-0, Charlie Savoy 0-0-0, Megan
Medlin 0-1-1, Amanda Landry 0-0-0.
Totals — 4-5-14.
Richmond — Alyssa Pearson 5-0-10,
Brianna Snedeker 0-0-0, Ciarra Lancaster 5-4-14, Noell Acord 1-0-2, Jamie
Plummer 9-2-20, Kelsea Anair 0-0-0,
Emily Leavitt 1-1-3, Payton Johnson 0-
0-0, Kalah Patterson 2-2-6, Haley Murphy 0-2-2, Morgan Harrington 1-0-2,
Julie Plummer 0-0-0, Autumn Acord 0-
0-0. Totals — 24-11-59.
3-pointer — (V) Vincent.
Records — Richmond 4-1, Valley 2-4.
Next for the Bobcats — Today at Old
Orchard Beach, 5:30 p.m.

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