FAIRMONT — The Fairmont High School girls basketball team used a second-half rally and some fourth quarter magic to pull off a come-from-behind win over the Richmond Raiders 54-46 Monday night at home.
“I am super excited. This was like our first test of the season,” Fairmont coach Marcus Thompson said. “And I got a chance to see who we were as a team. We gave up too many second chances. They turned the ball over too many times, and they still found it within themselves to fight and win.”
Down 34-33 to start off the fourth quarter, the Golden Tornadoes (3-0) were looking to continue their momentum, but the Raiders (2-1) started off the period hot and pushed their lead out to 43-37. That didn’t stop Fairmont as back-to-back buckets from Taniya Simms gave them the 45-44 lead. A late 3-pointer from Miah Smith made it 48-44 with less than a minute to go, and the Golden Tornadoes held on to their lead for the win.
“That last three-minute stretch, they just showed everybody in the gym who they are and who they can be,” Thompson said. “I’m proud of them. I’m proud of every girl in that locker room from the bench.”
A shaky start for both teams saw some back-and-forth action early with Richmond leading 9-6 after one quarter with all nine of the Raiders’ points coming from Jamyia Lindsey. The Raiders went on a few scoring runs in the second quarter but the Golden Tornadoes kept chipping away at the lead and found themselves down 22-19 at the halfway mark.
The Raiders added on to start things in the second half and started to pull away late before the Golden Tornadoes went on a 5-0 spurt in the final 18 seconds of the third quarter and ended the period with a buzzer beater from Jaliyah Stephens helping set up that fourth quarter comeback.
“When you’re playing against a player like Juicy (Jamiya Lindsey) you cannot take plays off,” Thompson said. “When you play against a guard like JoJo (Jasiah Gilchrist) that can see the court, you can’t take plays off. And they have so many pieces that you can’t leave nobody open. We weren’t tired and that speaks about what we go through during the summer and what we go through during the fall. It’s very rigorous.”
Simms led the way for Fairmont with 19 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Aaliyah Duran followed with 15 points and five steals. Niah Smith finished the night with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“We had to come together as a team,” Simms said. “We knew they were a good team they got like one or two players our defense can stop. So, we just had to come together, play our defense and play our type of basketball that we know how to play. I feel like if my energy is down then the whole team energy is down. So, I gotta measure my energies on point so my team energy can be on point.”
The Golden Tornadoes will be back in action December 12 at 6:30 p.m. when they travel to take on E.E. Smith.
Golden Tornadoes boys start fast, roll past Richmond
The Fairmont High School boys basketball team picked up a convincing win over the Richmond Raiders Monday night at home as a fast start for helped propel the Golden Tornadoes past the Raiders for a 56-32 victory.
“That’s a good momentum builder going forward,” Fairmont coach Montrell McNair said. “I know that the whole team (Richmond) wasn’t there tonight but I’m glad the way our guys came out and competed stayed together throughout. I mean it wasn’t the prettiest game, but we did finish it.”
The Golden Tornadoes (2-2) came out the gate on fire, jumping out to an 11-0 run, and kept on rolling outscoring the Raiders 9-6 over the later stages of the first quarter to take a 20-6 lead heading into to the second quarter. A quiet second quarter slowed down the run for the Golden Tornadoes as they only scored nine points in the period, but the defense continued to step up and hold the Raiders to just five points, taking a 29-11 lead into the locker room at the half.
“We told them that before the game started, we wanted them to come out and gain the momentum right from start,” McNair said. “That’s not a team that you want to hang around for a long period of time. because they are a championship-caliber team that pedigrees championships. You can’t let a team like that come out and get a lead on them because the more confidence they build, regardless of whether it’s young players or not, they still have that same championship pedigree. We had to come out and take advantage of that.”
Coming out of the gate in the second half right where they picked off to start the game, the Golden Tornadoes found their momentum again and pushed the lead out to 44-21 by the end of the third quarter, with Richmond still trying to chip away at the lead. Fairmont added on as the last eight minutes went on and closed things out for the win.
Xavier Johnson led the way for the Golden Tornadoes with 18 points and eight rebounds. Tariq Leggett followed with nine points, eight rebounds and Landon Cummings finished the night with six points and seven rebounds.
“Hustling back on defense (was key),” Johnson said. “Helping my teammates out on defense. Playing my role, playing my position. Run the lanes, right. Forcing turnovers and stuff like that on defense. Once we get on that run, like that little run that we get going together as a team.”
Fairmont will hit the road next Thursday when they travel to face Cape Fear at 7:30 p.m.
