ROCKINGHAM — Down nine with 93 seconds remaining in the game, it seemed far fetched South Robeson was going to be able to fulfill its coach’s Christmas wish.
However, Aterria Quick and Athlea Dickens had other ideas as the duo combined to score 13 of their team’s last 15 points as South Robeson rallied for a 60-57 victory over Richmond Senior Wednesday night at Raider Gymnasium.
Despite being held without a field goal for a five-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, South Robeson coach Lula Ratley said it was the school’s first victory against Richmond.
“This group of girls don’t ever give up,” Ratley said. “They usually have a slump in a game and I had to find a way to motivate them.”
Quick drained back-to-back 3-point field goals and added a fadeaway jumper off a steal, while Dickens recorded a steal and a layup during a 40-second span which saw the Mustangs (4-5) turn a 54-45 deficit into a one-point lead.
“Coach told me to bring the ball up the court and hit Aterria for a 3,” Dickens said. “She told us during a timeout she wanted it to be her Christmas present.”
The Raiders recovered as Shaquail Wall connected on a 3-pointer from the right wing with 40 seconds remaining in the contest. It would be the last lead for Richmond. South Robeson’s Savannah Hunt responded with a baseline-jumper to tie the game at 57.
On the ensuing possession, Cherie Ellerbe was fouled driving to the basket, sending her to the free-throw line for two shots. Ellerbe missed both attempts and Quick grabbed the rebound. The freshman point guard was fouled bringing the ball up the court and hit one of two free throws to push the Mustangs in front 58-57 with eight seconds left in the game.
After a Richmond timeout, Kayla Ewing’s inbound pass was stolen by Dickens, who grabbed the ball and drove in for a layup as Ewing fouled her.
“I was thinking, don’t miss this layup,” Dickens said. “I have been having trouble hitting them lately, but I knew I had to get it.”
Dickens misfired on the free throw and Richmond quickly called timeout to set up a play with under five seconds remaining. The Raiders were unable to get off a shot as time expired.
“We couldn’t get the ball in,” Richmond coach Victoria DeFrate said about the South Robeson rally. “We’re just going to stay positive and help each other. There were some positives tonight. We then good moving the ball and played good defense. We just need to learn how to finish games.”
Wall scored a game-high 25 points for the Raiders, while Jade Evans added 12. Quick finished with 23 points for the Mustangs, 15 in the final period.
South Robeson boys stomped
Xavier Davis scored 17 points in Richmond Senior’s win over South Robeson, but none were bigger than his driving layup with 1:49 left in the contest.
That basket was the team’s 100th point on the night, helping the Raiders cruise to a 105-55 non-conference win Wednesday night at Raider Gymnasium.
The contest was never in double as Richmond jumped to a 29-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, before ballooning its advantage to 38 points at halftime. Jordan Richardson put an exclamation point on the first half with a dunk just as time expired.
The Raiders had five players in double figures led by Greg Patterson and Sidney Neely, who each scored 17 points. Both Xavier Davis and Jordan Richardson netted 15, while Trey Pettigrew dropped in 10.








