RICHMOND

Points were hard to come by in the first half of Thursday night’s girls high school basketball game between Richmond and North Yarmouth Academy. Really hard to come by.

Neither team scored a bucket in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game and there were just 21 total points on the scoreboard at halftime. The offenses desperately needed to find different ways to score in the defensive battle, and for Richmond, that meant hitting from distance.

With senior MacKenzie Abbott leading the way, the Bobcats hit six 3-pointers on the night and used a hot third quarter to remain perfect on the season with a 44- 33 victory.

Senior guard Meranda Martin sparked Richmond (6-0) with a hoop-and-harm conversion out of the gates in the second half, and from there, the trey was wide open. Abbott hit her second of the night and Sidney Underhill-Tilton swished a bucket inside as part of a 7-0 run to begin the frame. Two more 3-pointers from Abbott and Caitlin Kendrick blew the game open and the Bobcats never looked back.

“First and second quarter, we were rushing things,” Richmond coach Mike Ladner said. “We made some adjustments at halftime. We talked about slowing the pace down, working the ball around for a good shot and it opened things up. We were able to get some inside looks, some outside looks, played much better.”

Abbott splashed her fourth trey of the night in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 17 points. When she wasn’t outside the arc, she drove to the basket, looking for a trip to the free-throw line, where she hit 5-of-6 tries.

“We were all ready as a team,” Abbott said of the second half. “We found out the weaknesses of NYA and got used to how they play. As a team, we were able to figure out what they were doing and find their weak points.”

NYA (2-3), paced by Maggie Larson with 13 points, hit its stride in the fourth quarter and scored 16 points, just one fewer than the first three quarters combined.

Defense first

The Panthers’ slow start was due in part to Richmond’s normally stingy defense, which was on full display in the first half. It was almost four minutes into the game before Larson hit a 3-pointer to get the visitors on the board, and a second bucket down low from Helen Hamblett rounded out the scoring in the first frame.

“We take pride in our defense,” Ladner said. “We have from day one. Three years now, we’ve preached defense every day in practice and it shows. You can win some games with offense, but to win consistently you need solid defense.”

A lay-up from Zelda Clegg and a free throw from Lindsay Tufts were all the Panthers managed for the rest of the half. Between travel calls, charges and Richmond’s back-court press, nothing was working.

“If they aren’t putting the ball in the bucket, they can’t win,” Ladner said. “I thought there were a couple times where there were a few lapses and we weren’t communicating, but if we’re communicating on defense, we can stop about anybody.”

“Defense is probably what the game of basketball is about,” Abbott said. “He (Ladner) has us work on defense 24/7, so we’re a defensive team. It’s just important to us all around.”

What kept NYA in the game for the first 16 minutes was strong defense of its own. Richmond managed just two buckets inside the arc in the first half and was kept out of the lane almost entirely. Despite having only seven dressed players available, the Panthers utilized their size down low throughout.

“They were all over the place,” Abbott said. “They were tough and they were hard to get around, which is why a lot of us weren’t driving like we usually do.”

“I want to give them kudos,” Ladner said of NYA. “Seven girls, they battled. They took away the inside on us tonight. They have definitely improved from last year. They’re going to be a good ball club. Come the end of the season, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re in the tournament.”

Eventually, though, when Abbott posed a threat outside, the paint opened up. Underhill-Tilton (13 points) pulled in six rebounds on the night and Bryanne Lancaster came off the bench to add four more. Kendrick split 12 points with Martin, who dished out a game-high five assists

Hamblett controlled the glass for NYA, pulling in eight boards on top of her lone bucket.

Richmond 44, NYA 33

At Richmond High School

NYA	—	5	3	9	16	—	33
Richmond		— 10	3	15	16	—	44

NYA — Zelda Clegg 3-0-6, Maggie Larson 5-2-13, Lindsay Tufts 2-1-5, Sydney Plummer 0-0-0, Katie Larson 1-4-7, Helen Hamblett 1-0-2. Totals — 12-7-33. Richmond — Caitlin Kendrick 2-0-6, Sidney Underhill-Tilton 5-3-13, MacKenzie Abbott 4-5-17, Cassidy Harriman 0-0-0, Meranda Martin 1-4- 6, Bryanne Lancaster 1-0-2, Lindsie Irish 0-0-0, Rylie Irish 0-0-0. Totals — 13-12-44. 3-point field goals — (NYA) Maggie Larson, Katie Larson; (R) MacKenzie Abbott 4, Caitlin Kendrick 2. Records — Richmond 6-0, NYA 2-3. Up next for the Bobcats — Jan 6. at Forest Hills, 5 p.m.