It took a few minutes, but once the Richmond girls basketball team found its offense, the Bobcats never looked back as they downed Wiscasset, 50-21 in Mountain Valley Conference high school action.
“We started a little slow,” said Richmond coach Mike Ladner. “I just told them to slow it down, trust the process.”
“Coach told us to take control, slow the game down and let it come to us,” said Sydney Underhill-Tilton. “We struggle with getting caught up in the other’s team tempo and sometimes get in our own way.”
A pair of Underhill-Tilton free throws followed and Richmond never trailed again, going on an 11-2 run, highlighted by a bounce pass underneath from the senior to Caitlin Kendrick. An Ashley Abbott steal and layup at the buzzer gave Richmond a 12-4 lead, despite shooting just 3-for-16 from the field.
Underhill-Tilton was 5-for- 6 from the charity stripe in the stanza and scored seven of her team’s 12 points. Richmond (8-4) forced five Wolverine turnovers.
Wiscasset’s Grace Webber opened the frame with a trey, cutting the lead to five.
“We try to pick each other up,” said Webber. “If one of us is struggling, we try to find the shots elsewhere. We’ve been practicing on our passing and I think it’s improving.”
The Bobcats shot slightly better in the second quarter, shooting 5-for-16, getting all 10 of their points from Underhill-Tilton. She finished the half with 17 points and seven rebounds while garnering a pair of steals on defense.
The defense was just as good as it was in the first. The Bobcats forced six more Wiscasset turnovers, led by pair of Kendrick steals, and outrebounded the home team 7-2 after Wiscasset misses. The result was a 22- 10 lead at the break.
“We knew Sydney had scored a lot of our first-half points,” said Ladner. “Some of the kids were frustrated with their missed shots. We talked about sharing the ball more, looking for the open shots,”
They did just that, finding offense from others. Shooting 50-percent from the field in the third quarter, the Bobcats opened the half on a 10- 0 run, getting a couple of baskets from Ashley Abbott and a Bryanne Lancaster jumper.
“I was getting double- and triple-teamed, so it was important for me to kick it out to my teammates for better shots,” said Underhill- Tilton.
Webber scored all five of her team’s points, including 3-for-4 from the foul line, in the third quarter.
“She does so much for us. She may not light up the scorebook, but she does a lot on the floor. She usually ends up guarding the other team’s best player,” said Clark. “She leads by example because of her intensity out there.”
A Lancaster trey followed by a basket from behind the arc from Rylie Irish as the buzzer sounded gave Richmond a 40-15 lead through three quarters.
As has been the case most of the season, the Wolverines played hard, but were unable to put four quarters together.
“I’m not sure we put three together tonight,” said Clark. “That was it for us tonight, we weren’t into it mentally tonight. “
Richmond closed out the contest with a 10-6 fourth quarter, getting five points from Kendrick that included a pair of offensive rebounds and putbacks for baskets.
“I talked to her at halftime, as she was getting frustrated with some missed shots,” said Ladner. “I told her she wasn’t going to make them all or she would be in the WNBA. She relaxed for us and played a great second half.”
Sydnie Thayer had a strong final frame for the Wolverines, netting five points. Webber led Wiscasset (0-13) with 10 points, followed by Thayer and Lindsey Gordon’s five point each. Sophomore Jade Rego hauled down six rebounds, while Gordon added five.
“It’s a process, it’s happening, maybe not as quick as some would like, but these girls are learning the game,” said Clark.
Underhill-Tilton finished with a game-high 22 points, grabbing nine boards and three steals. The senior was 8-for-10 from the free-throw line. Kendrick chipped in nine points to go with her five steals and six rebounds. Abbott had eight points, while Lancaster finished with five points and seven rebounds.
Richmond 50, Wiscasset 21
At Wiscasset
| Richmond | — | 12 | 10 | 18 | 10 | — | 50 |
| Wiscasset | — | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | — | 21 |
Richmond — Sydney Underhill-Tilton
7-8-22 , Marybeth Sloat 0-0-0, Ashley
Abbott 3-2-8, Arianna Kelsey 0-0-0,
Bryanne Lancaster 2-0-5, Rylie Irish
1-0-3, Caitlin Kendrick 3-3-9, Lindsie
Irish 0-0-0, Bryannah Shea 1-0-2,
Macy Carver 0-1-1. Totals — 17-14-
50.
Wiscasset — Kayla Cossette 0-0-0,
Lindsey Gordon 2-1-5, Maeve Blodgett 0-0-0, Jade Rego 0-0-0, Grace
Webber 3-3-10, Sydnie Thayer 2-1-5,
Leah Potter 0-1-1, Paige Davenport
0-0-0. Totals — 7-6-21.
3-point goals — (R) Lancaster, R.
Irish; (W) Webber.
Records — Richmond 8-4, Wiscasset 0-13
Up next for the Bobcats — Tonight at
home against Carrabec, 7 p.m.
Up next for the Wolverines —
Tonight at Telstar, 7 p.m.
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