RICHMOND

There are times when Richmond High School girls basketball coach Mike Ladner simply shakes his head, wondering what is going on with his Bobcats.

Case in point Wednesday’s Mountain Valley Conference matchup with three-win Hall-Dale, when Richmond turned the ball over four times, missed its first six shots and trailed 4-0 as the taller Bulldogs clogged the lanes.

“We had to make some adjustments with their length after they did a real good job disrupting our shots by extending out their 2-3,” said Ladner.

Richmond figured things out, pulling away in the second half for a 53-23 victory.

The Bobcats are 10-4 and visit Class C South No. 2 Monmouth Academy tonight at 7 p.m.

Richmond rode stellar defense. After Hall-Dale grabbed its four-point lead, the Bulldogs failed to score the rest of the way in the opening quarter. Meanwhile, the Bobcats found some offense, taking a 7-4 lead as Sydney Underhill-Tilton picked up four points.

“We were ready to go, but we didn’t have a practice this week with no school and it took us a little bit to get going,” said Richmond captain Caitlin Kendrick. “We realized that we were just faster.”

“We know our defense is always there. We just preach to keep shooting as our shots will eventually fall,” Ladner said.

Hall-Dale stuck around in the second quarter as Cat Kinkaid put up six points to keep the Bulldogs within single digits. However, Underhill-Tilton added seven points to her total as Richmond carried a 19-10 advantage to the break.

Assist machine

In the second half, Richmond began finding holes throughout the Hall-Dale interior defense. Guards Ashley Abbott and Kendrick often penetrated before passing to a teammate for an easy basket.

Kendrick was on her game in the second half on Wednesday, turning into the ball controlling, passing guard that Ladner has been looking for all season.

“I have been preaching that to her all year, and over the last three weeks the light has gone on,” Ladner said of Kendrick. “She has six, seven, eight assists the last few games, and that is big for us.”

Kendrick began causing havoc for the Bulldogs. She dished out two helpers in the third quarter as the Bobcats began to take control, extending out to a 30-18 edge heading to the fourth quarter.

“Coach wants me to handle the ball so I can get those assists and get some fouls called so I can go to the line,” Kendrick said.

Kendrick owned the fourth quarter. She had five of her game-high nine assists in the frame, and added five points to give her 10 in the contest. Kendrick also had eight steals.

Meanwhile, Underhill- Tilton finished strong, adding five more points to her game-best 21-point total. She chipped in seven rebounds and four steals, while Abbott scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half. Bryanne Lancaster nailed a pair of 3-pointers, finishing with eight points.

Kinkaid paced Hall-Dale with 10 points, while Ellie Dekker had five and Amanda Benner four. The Bulldogs were held to just 11 field goals on 38 attempts and missed all five of their free-throw attempts. The visitors committed 37 turnovers.

Richmond was 18-of-52 (34 percent) and made 12-of-18 at the charity stripe.

Richmond 53, Hall-Dale 23

At Richmond

Hall-Dale — Olivia Bourque 0-0-0,
Sabrina Freeman 0-0-0, Kayla Searles
1-0-2, Cat Kinkaid 5-0-10, Amanda
Benner 2-0-4, Ellie Dekker 2-0-5,
Grace Begin 0-0-0, Emily Allen 1-0-2,
Bella Marino 0-0-0, Aspen Schaub 0-
0-0, Hazel Clark 0-0-0, Savannah Millay 0-0-0. Totals — 11-0-23.
Richmond — Bryanne Lancaster 3-0-
8, Lindsie Irish 0-0-0, Ashley Abbott
5-0-12, Caitlin Kendrick 2-5-10, Sydney Underhill-Tilton 7-7-21, Marybeth
Strout 0-0-0, Bryannah Shea 0-0-0,
Rylie Irish 0-0-0, Macy Carver 1-0-2.
Totals — 18-12-53.
3-point field goals — (HD) Dekker;
(R) Lancaster 2, Abbott 2, Kendrick.
Records — Richmond 10-4, Hall-
Dale 3-11.
Up next for the Bobcats — Tonight at
Monmouth, 7 p.m.