The Richmond Hill Lady Wildcats hosted the Lowndes Vikettes on Friday evening, and---despite a late push---would fall to the Lady Vikettes by a final score of 51-38.

“We have got to finish when we get opportunities,” head coach Sarah Jones said. “I think we were there on many occasions, but we did not finish at the basket and we had some turnovers there that really cost us.”

While Lowndes would hold the lead for much of the game, Mmekom Inyang had a solid showing in the first period as she led the Lady Wildcats with 7 points. MaKiyah Matthews and Jada Bown would add 2 apiece in the period. 

From a scoring standpoint, the second period would prove to be far more difficult to gain ground, as the Lady Wildcats were only able to score six points in the period as Matthews would knock down a 3-pointer and finish with 4 points, and Inyang provided 2 points, as Lowndes took a 22-17 lead into the break.

“We let them in the game too much,” Jones said. “We let them get too many offensive rebounds and they knocked down some shots. We took several shots, but we just did not finish with them the way that we had hoped we would.”

Coming out of the half, Lowndes would continue their run and dominance in the third, as they would go on a 16-10 run in the period, to take a 38-27 lead into the final period of play. Matthews would again knock down a 3-pointer, finishing with 6 in the period, helping to put a stop to the Lowndes’ run. Inyang added 4 more points.

“The missed free throws were a setback for us,” Jones said. “We missed seven in the third, and those could have kept us in the game. That is something we work on every day in practice.”

The fourth would prove to be better from the free throw line from the Lady Wildcats, and they would even close the gap with the help of sophomore sensations Emari Brown and Cullen McCormick. Both would have a couple of blocks in the period, and McCormick led in scoring with 5 points. Brown would add 4 more and Inyang had 2 in the final period. 

“Those two have been playing together for a while,” Jones said. “Really, they all have. They have a great chemistry and that can be a good and bad thing. We can fix it because we are so close, but we also are not finishing when we need to be.”

With the lead trimmed down in the fourth, it would seem as though the Lady Wildcats would mount a comeback, but the Lowndes offense kept them out of the game--and ultimately, the victory.

“They fought until the end,” Jones said. “We talk to them all the time about not allowing one thing to dictate anything else in the game. Bad things will happen, and we had our fair share of it tonight, but do not let that dictate how we play. I think they did well with that.”

The Richmond Hill Lady WIldcats (13-7) will travel to Savannah to take on the Jenkins Lady Warriors (6-10) on January 23. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.