The Richland Raiders waltzed into their contest on Thursday with six straight wins but they left with seven. They managed a 45-41 victory over Loretto. The victory was all the more spectacular given Richland's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 78th, while Loretto is ranked 12th).
Leading Richland to victory were Bailey Blair and Shelby Higgins. Blair scored 16 points along with eight rebounds, while Higgins scored 16 points. That makes it four consecutive games in which Higgins has scored at least a third of Richland's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ac Hewitt, who scored five points.
Loretto's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Ally Weathers, who scored 12 points, and Sophia Weathers who scored 12 points. Weathers is trending in the right direction, as she's improved her point production for three games straight.
Richland's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 19-5. As for Loretto, their loss dropped their record down to 21-3.
Richland didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 57-16 win vs. Hampshire on the 9th. Loretto does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
