Sports
Leah Richardson Becomes All-Time Scorer Against Athens
By: Blake Baker, Megan Vanselow
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Leah Richardson’s historic night headlined an offensive showcase for Alexander (14-6) as the Lady Spartans topped the Athens Lady Bulldogs (5-14) 64-11 Monday night.
“I was thinking ‘I better not miss this layup,’” Richardson said. “That would’ve been embarrassing.”
45 seconds into the game, Leah Richardson picked off a pass and went the distance for an easy layup. Those two points were all she needed to become Alexander’s all-time scorer. She finished the game with 10 points, five rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
Rachel Richardson nearly outshined Leah Richardson in the box score on her big night, scoring 17 points, nabbing seven rebounds and intercepting two passes. McKena Rice added nine points, eight rebounds and six steals for the Lady Spartans.
Alexander outplayed Athens to hand the Lady Bulldogs their worst loss of the year. Athens finished the contest with 26 turnovers and shot less than 11 percent from the field. Alexander took advantage of several fast-break opportunities while Athens missed multiple open layups.
“I didn’t do a good enough job to get us prepared offensively for tonight’s game,” coach Paul McNeal said. “I have to do a better job.”
Athens played out of sorts all night. After scoring 40 or more points twice in the last five games, the Lady Bulldogs finished the first half with five points, all of which came in the first quarter. Three Lady Spartans had five or more points by halftime.
On the defensive side, the Lady Bulldogs gave up 64 points for the third time this year and allowed a 29-0 run that spanned across three quarters. Alexander also won the battle on the boards, grabbing 34 total rebounds, which included 13 offensive.
Sophie Miller led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with five. Olive Harter finished with three and Taylor Gregory notched two. Sami Russell round out the Bulldogs scoring, hitting a free throw in the fourth quarter. Alexis McCollum, who Athens relied so heavily on during its four-game win streak, scored zero points and dished out only two assists on the night.
The Lady Bulldogs will try to turn around when they host Vinton County on Feb. 4. Alexander continues its hunt on Feb. 4 as well, when it travels to Wellston.